


Scarred By My Mind

by InfiniteKittie



Category: Sam and Colby, Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Dreams, Gen, Hurt Colby Brock, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Japan, Nightmares, Overnight, Panic Attacks, Protective Elton Castee, Protective Sam Golbach, Sam and Colby - Freeform, TFIL - Freeform, YouTubers - Freeform, suicide forest
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-13
Updated: 2019-11-05
Packaged: 2020-03-02 14:21:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 28
Words: 41,483
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18812692
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/InfiniteKittie/pseuds/InfiniteKittie
Summary: Set after the overnight at Suicide Forest.Everyone managed to shake off what they saw that night, everyone except Colby. He’s having panic attacks, nightmares and he’s barely sleeping. But he doesn’t want any of his friends to worry. How badly is it affecting Colby? Will he keep it a secret until it’s too late?





	1. Sneak Peek

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first Sam and Colby story. I hope you guys enjoy it and feel free to leave comments helping me to improve. First chapter will be posted on May 15th! 
> 
> Don’t forget to follow my Twitter for further updates about when I post.  
> @KittieInfinite  
> https://mobile.twitter.com/KittieInfinite

...

 

Colby turned the tap on, low, and pooled water into his hands before splashing it on his face. Images plagued him behind his closed eyelids. The forest and the tent. That goddamn tent and what was laying beside the tent...

 

Colby stumbled as he shook his head, hoping to clear the unwanted images from his mind. But a wave of dizziness washed over him, causing him to fumble to hold onto the sink. His knees weak as his legs gave up, sending him crashing onto the floor. Colby stilled as he tried to stop the dizziness. Once the thumping inside his head lessened and the room stopped spinning, he listened to see if he had disturbed anyone. No one stirred.

 

...

 


	2. Part 1: One

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is my first Sam and Colby story. I hope you guys enjoy it and feel free to leave comments helping me to improve. This doesn’t follow any of their videos order. 
> 
> Next chapter will be posted on May 22nd. 
> 
> Don’t forget to follow my Twitter for further updates about when I post.  
> @KittieInfinite  
> https://mobile.twitter.com/KittieInfinite

* * *

 The sun was rising above the horizon, blinding those unlucky enough to be driving at dawn. One car, in particular, was driving along the Japanese road, the driver staying awake long enough to get back to the hotel. The other occupants were quiet, not even the radio was loud enough to break the silence.

Elton Castee lowered the visor to block out some of the sun, before glancing at his friends and fellow YouTubers. Jay Walker sat beside him, eyes closed and breathing even. Brennen Taylor was crashed in the back seat, snoring. The last friend was Colby Brock was still awake, eyes glued to the window.

They had done some crazy stuff in the past, but the night they were driving away from, was the worst. They all lived in California and had come to Japan for a few weeks. Elton’s YouTube channel, TFIL, was all about doing crazy things and they had travelled to many countries, sometimes more than once. Japan was just another stop, and what they had done was what their fans had been expecting for months.

A part of Elton was shaken from their latest overnight and the phone call with the Japanese Police. Although they all knew what the possible outcomes were going to be, they didn’t really believe that the night was going to end how it did. But that wasn’t on the forefront of his mind, right now sleep was his priority, getting his friends back to the hotel so they could all sleep.

 

However, Colby was in a different state of mind. He was trying to avoid thinking, blankly staring at the other cars passing and the other side of the road. Absentmindedly, Colby was twisting his rings around and around and around. His head was thumping and his throat felt like it was being tightened. Colby’s palms were sweating, rising his overall temperature. He refused to let himself fall asleep until they were at the hotel, if for nothing else but to keep Elton company.

“You can sleep, Colby. I promise to wake you when we get to the hotel.” Elton spoke softly, trying not to wake anyone else.

“I’m good, Uncle Elton. Not that tired.” Colby replied, forcing a slight smile on his face when their eyes caught in the rear view mirror. His voice soft and raspy due to overuse. Elton sighed but nodded, knowing he wouldn’t convince the younger boy.

 

The rest of the drive was uneventful. Colby read about one hundred license plates before they reached the hotel. Elton hadn’t said another word, but turned the volume on the radio up slightly, to replace the silence that was beginning to constrict the air. The other two, Jay and Brennen, stayed asleep, shifting positions every now and then.

* * *

Elton pulled up in front of the hotel and parked the car. He lent over to Jay and nudged him lightly, “Jay. We’re here, wake up.” He called, raising his voice as he continued to speak. “Come on, Jay. Up!” Jay slowly opened his eyes, rubbing them as he yawned. Elton glanced at the backseat to see Colby had woken Brennen up, the latter fumbling to find the door handle.

“Woah. Careful bro.” Colby grabbed Brennen’s arm as he managed to open the door, not remembering all of his weight was on that door. Brennen was half hanging out of the door with Colby trying to pull him back in when Elton glanced again. “Really, Brennen?” He smiled sheepishly as the others laughed, half heartedly. It was the first time they really laughed since they last exited the car the night before.

Eventually, Jay had hopped out and carefully helped Brennen out, with Colby only letting go once Brennen had both feet on the ground. Colby and Elton had hopped out and gathered the backpacks that had the camera equipment and the other necessities they brought with them. Jay and Brennen lightened the others’ loads, so they were all carrying something. “Alright, I’ll give the key to the Valet while you guys can head up to the room.” Elton stated before walking into the hotel.

“Okay, who’s got their key card?” Jay and Brennen almost had to strain their ears to hear Colby. Jay slipped his hand into his pocket and pulled out a white card with the hotel name on it.

“Let’s go, boys. I haven’t finished my beauty sleep yet.”

“Yeah, cause you really need it.” They laughed at Brennen’s expense as they walked towards the hotel elevator.

* * *

Jay opened their hotel room door and Brennen barged through the doorway. They had two double beds in their room, with Elton and Jay sharing the one next to the window and Brennen and Colby sharing the one next to the bathroom. Brennen dropped everything he was carrying, stripped his shirt and then dramatically fell to the bed. “Night, guys.” With that Brennen closed his eyes and was snoring in a matter of seconds. Jay and Colby were still standing at the door, but began snickering as they deemed it safe to enter.

Jay had to jump over the bags and clothes Brennen had just dumped on the floor, to get to his side of the bed. He put his things on the ground, right next to his bed, out of the way. “You going to sleep, Colby?” Jay asked, noticing that the youngest had yet to put his bags down.

“I’ll wait for Elton. Make sure he does have his key card.” Jay struggled to hear Colby over Brennen’s snoring but managed to get the gist of what he had replied. Jay nodded before pulling the covers back and closing his eyes.

Colby finally let his bags hit the floor, as his legs gave out. Luckily he was close to his side of the bed, the closest to the bathroom. The hotel door opened two seconds later, revealing Elton. “I see the others couldn’t even wait for me.” Elton mocked, hand on his heart. Colby laughed, although it sounded flat and empty. “Get some rest, Colby. It’s,” he checked his watch. “7 in the morning. We’re not doing anything for about twelve hours.” Colby nodded in response as Elton stepped over Brennen’s things. “Night, Colby.” Elton stretched out on his side of the bed, quickly falling asleep.

* * *

With everyone sleeping, the silence roared again, robbing any distractions. Colby pulled his hoodie and shirt off before laying down on the bed. He laid with his head on the pillow, staring at the ceiling. He closed his eyes, but couldn’t drift off to sleep. He was tired and his muscles ached. Colby rolled onto his side and closed his eyes again.  

Ten minutes later, the phone screen lit up as Colby checked the time. It was hard to sleep when his mind was still reeling. He sighed as he rolled over yet again, facing Brennen who was laying on his stomach. Colby closed his eyes and tried to imagine sheep jumping over hurdles. It works for little kids, right?

7:17 am

He wanted to throw his phone but didn’t want to break it. Instead, he grabbed his earphones out of his bag that was leaning against the side of the bed. He opened YouTube and decided he would watch the videos Sam had uploaded while they were in Japan. Then, he would be able to fall asleep.

7:35 am

Colby glanced over at the other three in the room. He could wake someone, have some help facing the thoughts he’s trying to avoid. But Elton would probably plan to prank him in some terrible, disastrous prank if Colby woke him up. Jay would probably playfully throw a pillow and tell Colby to go to sleep before stealing Elton’s pillow and waking him up. Brennen would probably sit up with Colby, but it would make him feel too guilty that he’d tell Brennen to go back to sleep.

He couldn’t wake any of the boys. That wasn’t an option. He decided to make his way to the bathroom. He slowly and carefully got up off the bed and grabbed his phone for a torch to make sure he didn’t trip on his way. Colby didn’t turn the bathroom light on, as he knew it would wake someone, so he set his phone against the mirror, providing enough light to see.

Colby turned the tap on, low, and pooled water into his hands before splashing it on his face. Images plagued him behind his closed eyelids. The forest and the tent. That goddamn tent and what was laying beside the tent...

 

Colby stumbled as he shook his head, hoping to clear the unwanted images from his mind. But a wave of dizziness washed over him, causing him to fumble, trying to hold onto the sink. His knees weak as his legs gave up, sending him crashing onto the floor. Colby stilled as he tried to stop the dizziness. Once the thumping inside his head lessened and the room stopped spinning, he listened to see if he had disturbed anyone. No one stirred.

Colby breathed a sigh of relief pulling his legs up to his chest. His head fell against his knees as he focused on just breathing. In and out, in and out. As he was breathing, the thumping returned with a vengeance and his throat tightened suddenly. His eyes widened before slamming closed, visions of the overnight robbing him of reality.

The forest, the tent, the person-body. The bones they had found the noises the rope and the umbrella. The game and coin - lost somewhere in that forest. The tent the game the body the phone the call the police the forest.

He couldn’t breathe, he couldn’t remember where he was. He needed help, he needed someone to help-Sam. He needed Sam. Sam would help. Where was he? Sam’s name came out, strangled and barely audible. Why wasn’t Sam there? Why wasn’t he here?

 

Colby’s hands were tangled in his hair as he roughly pulled on the brown strands. Sobs wracked his body, as he curled up against the cabinet underneath the sink. The phone providing almost no light on the floor.

 

Everything was dark, trees caging him inside. He was too afraid of looking upwards too afraid of what he would see, what he might see. He hated seeing the bright colours taped on the trees, trying not to remember why they would be there. They weren’t supposed to be there, they had had enough warning signs. The van, the spiders and their webs almost blocking the paths. The bones, the creature in the forest near the tent. The game, feeling sick. This headache that had started after they played the game.

 

“Sam!” Tears were running down his jeans, hands leaving his tangled hair to wrap around his legs. Trying to protect himself from something that only existed in his head. “Sammy.” His voice raspy and quiet, empty.


	3. Two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello!!!! 
> 
> Surprise!! I’m posting one day earlier than I said I would. Yay!!! 
> 
> Just a quick thank you to everyone who is reading this, those who comment and leave kudos. You guys are all amazing!!!
> 
> This is my first Sam and Colby story. I hope you guys enjoy it and feel free to leave comments helping me to improve. This doesn’t follow any of their videos order.
> 
> Next chapter will be posted on May 25th. 
> 
> Don’t forget to follow my Twitter for further updates about when I post.  
> @KittieInfinite  
> https://mobile.twitter.com/KittieInfinite

* * *

Elton’s eyes sprang open against his will. The sun was shinning underneath the curtains, not enough to light up the room. Elton ran his fingers through his hair before rolling over and closing his eyes. A small noise resounded throughout the room, softer than Brennen’s snores but a sound that seemed out of place. Elton sighed as he forced himself to sit up, eyes watering as he tried to wake himself up. 

His eyes glanced over at Jay who was sleeping on his back, one of his arms had fallen off the bed and swung lightly in time with his breathing. Next was Brennen who was sleeping on his stomach, his head sideways on the pillow, facing Jay. Elton’s eyes continued to roam but stopped as he registered the empty space next to Brennen. The covers were halfway down the bed, signalling that Colby had gotten up, matching with the string of light coming from underneath the bathroom door.

It wasn’t a cause for concern as Colby was allowed to go where he wanted. But, Elton had a nagging feeling that something wasn’t quite right. Colby had been quiet since they stopped recording. He hadn’t slept in the car and he had waited for Elton to get back before laying down. Another noise struck Elton’s ears, a quiet whimper. He decided there was nothing wrong with checking on Colby. Just a knock on the door and Elton could fall asleep again. He had uncle duties he had to attend to. 

He rubbed his eyes, trying to clear away the sleep, as he pushed himself off the bed and walked across the room, careful to avoid the stuff left all over the place. The closer he got to the bathroom, the more worried Elton got. It sounded like Colby was crying. He raised his hand to knock on the door, when he strained to hear Colby’s voice. 

“Sam! Sammy.” 

Elton tested the door knob, finding it unlocked. He pushed open the door, his eyes struggling to adjust to the phone light. A shape with messy brown hair was curled up on the floor, next to the cabinet. Elton flicked the light on before dropping to his knees beside his friend. “Colby. Hey Colby, it’s Elton.” He called, trying to coax the younger boy back to reality. His hands pulled Colby into his chest, rubbing his back. “It’s okay, Colby. I’m here. Uncle Elton’s here.” 

* * *

Jay was half aware of Elton moving. He felt the bed shift as Elton stood up. It wasn’t until the bathroom light turned on, that Jay opened his eyes. The door was left open and he could hear some whispers coming from the bathroom. A quick scan around the room told him that Colby and Elton must be in there. Jay stayed where he was, unsure of what was happening between his two friends, but ultimately decided that if they needed him, they’d call. 

* * *

Several minutes later, Colby hadn’t shown any sign that he knew Elton was there. His head was buried against his knees with his arms almost cutting off circulation to his shins. He was crying and the only word that could escape his mouth, was Sam. Elton tried time after time, to calm him down, but it was becoming quite obvious that Colby would only respond to Sam. A sharp pain cut through Elton’s heart. He often forgot how much younger his roommates were than he, but in that moment Colby looked even younger. Elton moved him slightly so he could reach Colby’s phone. 

8:30 am

Elton couldn’t be bothered to figure out what time it would be for Sam. He reached for Colby to lean him against his chest once again as he asked Siri to call Sam.

* * *

Sam was stretched out on the couch, with his laptop, editing his next video. Aaron was sitting next to him playing Fortnite while Corey and Devyn had left to get them all some food. Sam found his eyes wandering to the time at the top of screen. 

4:30 pm 

He opened Safari and started to google what time it would be in Tokyo. He knew that Colby, Elton, Brennen and Jay were doing an overnight in Suicide Forest either today or yesterday and he was anxious to find out what happened. Colby had promised him he would call once they had gotten back and woken up. As if his thoughts were magic, his phone started ringing, Colby’s name lighting up the screen.  

“Colby?” Sam answered as he set his laptop aside and walked towards the kitchen. 

“Ah, it’s actually Elton.” His blood ran cold. Why was Elton calling him on _Colby’s_ phone? 

“Is everything okay?” Sam’s hands found the kitchen bench to steady himself. 

“Physically we’re fine, Sam. But Colby-“ 

“What happened? Is he okay?” Since Sam and Colby had become friends, they hadn’t really spent much time away from each other. This trip to Japan was one of the longest times that they had been separated. 

“Sam. He needs you. I’m putting you on speaker phone. Just try to talk to him.” Sam’s brain wasn’t working. Something was wrong with Colby and they were in two different countries. What was he supposed to _do_?  

“Colby?” Sam tried. “Colby, it’s Sam.” 

“Sam?” His voice sounded shot. Sam could hear that he had been sobbing but also that his voice had been overused. 

“I’m here, Colby. It’s okay.” He heard movement before Colby spoke again. 

“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.” Sam wasn’t sure who Colby was talking to, him or Elton but responded anyway. 

“It’s all good, Colby. It’s okay.” 

* * *

The second Colby heard Sam’s voice, he was back in reality. His head lifted and turned towards the phone. His eyes were still painted with panic, but it seemed to be slowly melting away with Sam’s voice. Elton breathed a sigh of relief. He began to untangle himself from Colby, handing the younger boy his phone. He stopped when Colby grabbed his arm. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.” He mumbled, but Sam replied before Elton could. Elton just nodded at Colby, giving him a small smile, before retreating back outside the bathroom. He softly closed the door and walked back to his side of the bed. 

Jay looked up as Elton was walking back to bed. “Everything okay?” Elton stopped, blinking several times to adjust to the change of light. 

“Yeah. He just needed someone.” Jay nodded before rolling over and closing his eyes. Elton followed suit but faced towards the covered window. 

* * *

“Do you wanna tell me what happened, Colby?” Sam asked once he could hear that Colby had calmed down drastically. He heard Colby’s breath catch. “You can tell me later. When you guys get back.” Sam continued quickly. 

“Thanks Sam.” There was a couple of seconds of silence, but as Sam opened his mouth, Colby continued. “I didn’t realise how much it affected me, until I couldn’t get away from the memories, the flashbacks. I’ll fill you in when we get back, promise.” 

“Whenever you’re ready, Colby.” Sam heard him hum in appreciation. 

“Sam?” Colby’s wreaked voice suddenly broke the silence that had settled between them. “Can you stay on the phone with me, a little while longer?” Sam’s heart clenched, it wasn’t often Colby asked for something like that. How could he deny his best friend’s plea?

“What do you wanna talk about?” 

“Anything. How’s your day? I don’t even know what time it is back home.” Sam laughed. 

“It’s four forty-five in the afternoon. And my day’s been interesting. I had to take Katrina shopping...” 

* * *

Colby listened to Sam talk for about an hour before he noticed he could barely keep his eyes open. He was determined to not fall asleep while on the phone with Sam, but it was becoming harder and harder. 

“You’re not asleep are you, Colby?” 

“Huh? No. Still here.” Colby mumbled, eyes fluttering closed again. 

“Do you wanna go to sleep? You can call me back when you wake up.” 

“Promise?” Colby hated how small his voice sounded, half because of overuse. But it didn’t bother him too much because it was Sam. 

“Promise.” 

Colby ended the call, ignoring the thought about how much international calls were going to cost him. He turned to the sink and washed his face with water, trying to wash away the tear streaks. Colby turned the bathroom light off, not realising until now that it was on. Elton must have turned it on when he came to check on Colby. He made his way back to his side of the bed before collapsing and drifting straight to sleep, his thoughts consumed by Sam’s stories. 

 


	4. Three

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey!!
> 
> Just wanted to send a quick thank you to everyone who is currently reading this, those who comment and leave kudos. You guys are all amazing!!!
> 
> This is my first Sam and Colby story. I hope you guys enjoy it and feel free to leave comments helping me to improve. This doesn’t follow any of their videos order.
> 
> Next chapter will be posted on May 29th. 
> 
> Don’t forget to follow my Twitter for further updates about when I post.  
> @KittieInfinite  
> https://mobile.twitter.com/KittieInfinite

* * *

 Sam put the phone on the table. He had moved to the chairs while telling Colby about his shopping trip. He sat there for a few minutes until he heard Aaron pause his game and walk into the kitchen. “Everything okay?” Aaron asked as he sat down opposite Sam.

“Yeah. I think Colby had a panic attack and Elton thought that I could calm him down. Which I did.” Aaron nodded.

“From Suicide Forest?” Sam just nodded.

They both sat in silence until the front door banged open and Corey shouted. “YOUR PERSONAL POSTMATES ARE HERE! Emphasis on the mate!” Sam and Aaron laughed as they walked to greet Corey and Devyn and help carry some of the food back into the kitchen.

They dumped everything on the counters while Devyn locked up the car and the front door. “Heard from Uncle Elton or Colbs, yet?” Corey asked as he started unpacking their take out. Aaron looked straight at Sam, causing Corey to stop his movements. Devyn walked in then too.

“Elton called me a little while ago. Colby was having a panic attack and I had to calm him down.” Corey’s mouth opened to an ‘o’ shape.

“Poor Colby.” Devyn commented for both her and Corey, as her boyfriend just agreed.

“Yeah. Something tells me that they shouldn’t have done that overnight.” Aaron mentioned as he helped Corey finish unpacking the bags.

“Yeah me too but Colby said he’d explain when they get back. So I guess we just wait.”

 

The roommates ate dinner together, watching a random movie that they had all seen before. They laughed and joked, but Sam couldn’t get the sound of Colby’s voice out of his head. What the hell had happened during the overnight? Colby didn’t get panic attacks, he hadn’t had one since they first moved out to LA.

They stayed up until midnight before Corey and Devyn said goodnight and retreated back to their room. Aaron decided he would get some sleep before the next major tournament at 4 am. That left Sam who took his laptop back to his room, to continue editing.

* * *

 About half an hour later, his phone started ringing. It was Colby. “Hey, Colby.”

“Hey, Sam. Is it late over there?” His voice was still very quiet and raspy but he sounded better, calmer, than the last time Sam answered the phone.

“Uh, ‘bout 12:30 but I’m still up.” There was a sigh of relief.

“Thought I might’ve woken you.”

“All good here, bro. What’re you up to?” Sam pushed his chair away from his desk so he could stretch out slightly.

“Well it’s about 4:30 here and no one else is awake. I’m in the hallway, outside our hotel room, so I don’t wake anyone up.”

“Dang, they must be tired.”

“Yeah. It was a hard night. And I certainly didn’t help them.” His voice lowered towards the end of his sentence.

“Not your fault, bro. This stuff happens.” Sam could almost hear Colby nodding his head.

“Anyway, I just wanted I check in with you like I said I would.”

“Course, bro. So I guess, I’ll see you when you guys are home?”

“Yep,” he answered, popping the p. “Thanks, Sam. Night.”

“You’re welcome. See ya, Colbs.”

* * *

Colby sat there in the hotel hallway, with his phone in his hands. He was leaning against the wall, knocking his head lightly. His fingers were shaking and he was thankful that Sam couldn’t tell that there was something up. He closed his eyes, revisiting his dream from earlier.

 

_He was in the forest when they had first found the tent. He heard the growl which had sent them all flying, getting caught up in the ribbons. But he lost sight of the others rather quickly, stumbling over the dark branches. He tried to shout out but his voice was practically dead, he could barely hear himself. He fumbled in his pockets, trying to find his whistle. When he found it, he cried in relief and went to blow into it. But it was too late._

_The was something there in front of him, watching his every move. Colby froze, willing his feet to move backwards. The second the thing moved, Colby bolted. He ran back the way he had come, not taking in any of his surroundings. Before too long, his foot slipped under something, tripping him over._

_Colby flipped himself over, freezing in fright, cursing at the sight in front of him. He had run straight to the tent and tripped over the body. The dead body. Then the thing was on top of him. He saw dead, empty eyes, before his body stilled and his mind was taken over._

 

Colby had jolted awake, and fumbled for his phone. He dialled Sam’s number before he made it out to the hallway, where he was now.

They shouldn’t have gone to that forest, every little particle inside of him was screaming, regretting saying yes to the whole Japan trip. It was worse than anything they had ever done, their worst mistake which was now haunting Colby every single second. Sam’s voice had helped and Colby longed for nothing but to tell him about his dream, but Colby could hear the exhaustion in Sam’s voice. Sam needed to sleep and Colby knew he wouldn’t if he was worried about his best friend.

Colby crept back into their hotel room and curled up on his side of the bed, once again. He wouldn’t think about anything evenly remotely connected to the forest for the last few days of their Japan trip. Once they were back in LA, it would all go away anyway. He would be fine.

* * *

He had made it to the plane without having anymore nightmares. Colby was fine, although Elton had really freaked him when he had stolen Colby’s passport. He wanted nothing more than to get out of Japan and the thought of being stuck in Japan, not only just a foreign country, but one that held bad memories for Colby, on his own, terrified him. He tried to not let it show, especially not on camera, because he didn’t want the others to think that he was weak or that they needed to worry about him.

But, it was all going to be okay because they were all on the flight back to LA. They could leave everything that happened, behind and not think about it ever again. The downside about the flight was that they were all separated. Elton was at the front of the plane with Brennen twenty rows back. Jay was halfway, seated over the wings and Colby was in the fourth last row. With seventy rows on the plane, they had no chance of speaking to each other without getting up and moving. Which none of them were doing because they were all asleep. Except for Colby.

He couldn’t wait to get back to the Traphouse and see Sam. His best friend who always made everything okay. Nothing could be wrong when Sam was around and Colby never knew how much he craved that until he hadn’t seen Sam in a few weeks. He put his earphones in and listened to Sam’s playlist on Spotify to help him fall asleep.


	5. Four

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello All!!!
> 
> Thank you to everyone who is currently reading this, those who comment and leave kudos. You guys are seriously incredible!!!
> 
> This chapter may be a little short, so I’m sorry for that!! 
> 
> This is my first Sam and Colby story. I hope you guys enjoy it and feel free to leave comments helping me to improve. This doesn’t follow any of their videos order.
> 
> Next chapter will be posted on June 4th.
> 
> Don’t forget to follow my Twitter for further updates about when I post.  
> @KittieInfinite  
> https://mobile.twitter.com/KittieInfinite

* * *

It was almost 10 pm by the time they walked off the plane and met up with each other again. They had got an early flight from Japan but due to the time difference, it was very late in Los Angeles. Colby had been the first to get off the plane as they allowed the back and the first class passengers to go first. He had been mindlessly playing with his rings once again when Elton had appeared in front of him.

“You good?” Colby felt himself jump slightly at his older friend’s voice but managed to force a smile onto his face.

“Yeah. Just a long ass flight.” His voice still shot.

“Tell me about it, bro.” Brennen’s voice made it easier to fake the smile as he turned away from Elton and his knowing gaze. Colby knew that Elton didn’t quite believe him, but he wouldn’t bring it up in front of Brennen and Jay.

“Everyone good to go?” Jay asked, joining the group as they began to move towards customs.

“Definitely. Can’t wait to get home.” Colby answered, walking ahead of their little group.

“Oh god, I miss my bed, dude. And Kobe.”

* * *

The boys moved through the airport as fast as possible, managing to clear customs rather quickly and find their luggage. Elton had kept glancing at Colby when he thought Colby wasn’t paying attention. Every time, Colby caught him in his peripheral vision and tried to stop his anxious fidgeting.

* * *

Soon enough, they were sitting in their Uber, driving to the Traphouse. “You guys wanna stay the night? One of the roommates can drive you home tomorrow.” Elton offered, fiddling with his camera.

“What? Just volunteering us now, Elton?” Colby tried to joke, the next stage of his plan to convince Elton he was fine.

“Well, I’ve got to edit the footage from Japan. Especially Suicide Forest. Wanna watch back that footage as soon as I can.”

“It’s cool, Elton. We know we’re less important than your footage. Typical YouTuber.” Jay causally stated, causing everyone, including their Uber driver, to start chuckling.

* * *

Pulling up to their driveway was the happiest Colby had been since before they left their hotel room to go to Suicide Forest. He had leapt out of the Uber and piled himself up with his bags before fumbling to open the gate. “God, Colby. Calm down.” Elton remarked as he thanked their driver. The boys all laughing as they followed Colby who had flung open the gate.

He ran down their driveway, taking notice that all of the roommates’ cars were in the driveway. Like always, the front door was unlocked, so Colby bashed the door open. “HONEY, I’M HOME!” Jay covered his ears as he ended up right behind Colby, as he held the door open for Brennen and Elton. They heard footsteps thundering down the stairs as Sam appeared. “COLBY!” He yelled as Colby dropped his bags and ran forward to meet Sam halfway. He picked the blonde boy up and swung him around the entrance hall.

Everyone was laughing, even Aaron and Corey had appeared, as Colby placed Sam back on the ground but pulled him into a hug. “Solby’s been reunited!” Aaron commented, sending everyone into fits of laughter yet again.

* * *

Eventually, Jay and Brennen had commandeered a couch each, Corey and Devyn had retreated back into their room, Aaron had retired to his room to play Fortnite and Elton had grabbed Circa and was cuddling her in his room. Colby had walked up to his room to begin unpacking when Sam volunteered to help.

With the two of them helping, they were done rather quickly and were just sitting on the couch in Colby’s room. “I missed you, Sam.” Colby whispered, his voice slowly recovering.

“I missed you too, Colby.” They sat in a comfortable silence, just appreciating the other’s presence, for a few minutes before Colby broke it.

“We shouldn’t have gone to Suicide Forest, Sam.” Sam didn’t respond, wanting Colby to continue at his own pace. “We saw things. Saw bones, deer bones, ropes and an umbrella. We were deep into the forest when we saw this ribbon tied to two trees. It was a line that trailed further into the forest. We made this deal, that we would investigate anything like that. None of us wanted to, obviously. I-I just wanted to leave.” Colby barely noticed Sam’s hand begin to rub his back, providing comfort. “We moved forward, but there was a t-tent. And then a growl and we dipped, heading most of the way back. Brennen decided that we should play this Japanese Ouija board and, God Sam. I felt sick, my head wouldn’t stop throbbing  and my throat seemed to get increasingly tighter as we continued to play. But that wasn’t all. W-we went back to the tent.” Colby felt tears begin to escape his eyes but he couldn’t help it.

“T-there was someone there, Sam. E-Elton called the p-police. We don’t know h-how long... God, Sam.” Instinctively, Sam’s arms wrapped around Colby and pulled him into his chest. They had done some messed up shit before, but they hadn’t ever seen a body. That was something that would scar anyone.

Sam stayed there, rubbing Colby’s back and whispering that everything would be okay. Soon, Sam felt Colby’s breathing deepen, as he fell asleep. Sam smiled before carefully picking him up to put in his bed. Sam struggled a little but managed to tuck him in bed without waking him. “Night, Colby.” Sam turned off the lights before retreating back to his own bedroom.

* * *

He sat there for another half an hour, thinking about what Colby had just told him. Sam hated that his gut feeling had been right, the others shouldn’t have gone there, it was a big mistake. One that he knew Colby was already paying for.

* * *

 Colby felt his body twisting and turning as he dreamt. The one dream he never wanted to have coming back once again. He thought once they left Japan, it would be over. But that wasn’t the case.

 

_His eyes jolting open but that didn’t calm him down. He couldn’t move, he was stuck. Colby glanced around, only being able to move his eyes. He was in his room at the Traphouse, everything looked as it was supposed to, so why wasn’t he awake? Why couldn’t he move? His heart thundered in his chest, deafening his ears._

_He struggled to scream but no sound came out. Panicking, his eyes flickered across his room, landing at his doorway, praying someone would open it. He had no voice and he tried to move any part of his body but it was out of his control. A face appeared before his eyes, two seconds and then it disappeared. But it was long enough for Colby to know that it belonged to the person who owned the tent._

_His heart continued to speed, screaming in his ears. He was going to die, he was dying. Colby was breathing in time with his heart. This was it. He was done for. SAM!_


	6. Five

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone!!
> 
> Thank you to everyone who is currently reading this, those who comment and leave kudos. You guys are seriously incredible!!!
> 
> I’m so sorry about the being a day late! But it’s here now!!
> 
> This is my first Sam and Colby story. I hope you guys enjoy it and feel free to leave comments helping me to improve. This doesn’t follow any of their videos order.
> 
> Next chapter will be posted on June 11th.   
> As from now on, I will post a chapter every Tuesday, AEST.
> 
> Don’t forget to follow my Twitter for further updates about when I post.  
> @KittieInfinite  
> https://mobile.twitter.com/KittieInfinite

* * *

The sun streamed through his open window. Drowsily, he lifted one arm up to shield his face from the sun, before letting himself doze off again. It took roughly thirty seconds, before he darted up, sitting upright in bed, breathing heavily. Colby could move, he was alive and he was awake. A huge sigh of relief burned through him. 

As he sat there, thinking about his dreams, his throat began closing up and he gagged. Colby was off the bed, as he bashed through his door and into his bathroom that he shared with Sam. His destination through the second door. Colby fell to his knees as he gagged again, before heaving into the toilet. After a solid minute of heaving, he was finally able to breathe. He sat there just breathing and recovering for a couple of minutes. 

Colby stood up to flush the contents down the drain, but when he glanced at the toilet, he wished he hadn’t. 

Colby flushed the toilet and grabbed some paper towel from the bench next to the sink and cleaned the bathroom. Not leaving a single trace of what had happened. He paused, after washing his hands and face, listening to the silence resounding throughout the house. Thank god no one heard that. 

Colby returned to his room, but even just looking at his bed was enough to keep him awake. Flashes of the dreams crept into the corner of his eyes as he swiftly turned away from his bed.  He found his phone, laying on the couch where Colby had thrown it when he ran to the bathroom, and checked the time. 

7:40 am

Colby softly padded down the stairs and into the kitchen, as habit. He had to be quiet as to not wake Jay and Brennen who were crashed out in their filming room. He opened his cupboard before closing it again. He probably shouldn’t eat breakfast after throwing up. He grabbed a plain slice of bread from the loaf on the island bench and filled a glass with water. He took his poor excuse for a meal outside and sat down on the pavement next to the pool. He placed the plate and glass next to him as he watched the wind rippling the pool water. Colby drew his knees up as he felt the small breeze ruffle his hair. It was quite relaxing, to say the least. 

They didn’t often go outside, simply to _sit_ outside. Normally it was because they were filming a video or prepping for one. Colby liked to just sit outside from time to time, just for some peace and quiet away from the roommates. Especially if he couldn’t sleep the night before. 

He tried nibbling on the bread but gave up when his head started throbbing faintly. Colby laid down, arm covering his eyes from the sun. He stayed there for a while, not entirely sure what was happening around him. He sat up once his head had calmed down. Colby grabbed his phone from beside his glass of water to check the time. 

9:06 am

The roommates will probably be getting up soon, Colby thought as he pulled himself up and took everything back inside. He threw the piece of bread away and tipped the water down the sink. Footsteps thudded above him, causing Colby to pull his phone out so he could act like nothing was wrong. 

“Morning brother.” Corey’s voice travelled across the kitchen as Colby put his phone down. 

“Brother.” He smiled at Corey and watched as his roommate opened his cupboard and filled a bowl with his usual cereal. Colby’s stomach clenched at the scent of food. 

“Been up long?” 

“An hour or so. Think I’m jet lagged.” Corey laughed as he tugged on the fridge door. He poured his orange juice and sat down at the other end of the kitchen. 

“Yeah, Japan’s like what? Ten hours in front?” 

“Sixteen, I think.” Corey scoffed. 

“Yeah, definitely messed up your clock, bro.” This time Colby laughed, it sounded flat to his own ears but he prayed that Corey didn’t read too much into it. 

Devyn entered the kitchen then, giving Colby the perfect timing to leave. “I’ll see you later, bro.” Corey nodded as Colby disappeared back upstairs. He checked to make sure Sam was still asleep, before grabbing his XPLR hoodie and jeans and heading towards the shower. 

* * *

Corey glanced at Devyn once Colby had disappeared up the stairs. “Something’s off, baby.” Devyn nodded her head, still looking towards the stairs. “His laugh sounded empty. Like he was just laughing for my benefit.” 

“Maybe he was. We don’t know what happened when they went to Suicide Forest. We don’t know how it messed with them.” She replied softly, sitting down besides her boyfriend. 

“You’re right. I just wish he’d tell us though.” 

“I’m sure he will. When he’s comfortable.” 

Their conversation was disrupted when they heard footsteps climb down the stairs. “Mornin’.” Elton called as he walked into the kitchen, grabbed an apple and then headed straight into the garage. “Can’t wait to review the footage from the overnight. Oh and can you guys let Circa out when she’s ready? Thanks!” He called as he disappeared into the garage. Devyn and Corey glanced at each other. “Did that seem a little...” 

“Out of character?” Corey finished as they stared at the closed garage door. “Well, guess we’ll find out about Suicide Forest, soon.” He commented, before getting up and washing his finished cereal bowl and glass. 

* * *

Standing underneath the water was calming and refreshing. It was exactly what Colby needed. Time to _not_ think. He stood washing his hair underneath the warm water, allowing the water to trickle down his back. He stepped back slightly, opening his eyes. Colby slipped in his haste to get away from the water. From the _red_ water. He smacked the back of his head against the glass, disorientating himself for a few seconds. 

“Colby? You good?” He heard Sam call as he waited for his ears to stop ringing or was it his head to stop spinning? When Sam called his name a second time, Colby realised that he was supposed to answer and he hadn’t yet. 

“I-I’m good!” He cursed his stutter but focused on reaching towards the tap to turn the shower off. 

He dried himself and got dressed before inspecting his head in the mirror. There was nothing there but it hurt like hell. Colby opened one of the drawers, fumbling around for some Tylenol. 

Luckily he managed to find some and took two, just to be safe. Colby continued his usual routine, not allowing himself to dwell on what led up to hitting his head. 

* * *

Sam had been heading downstairs when he heard a thud from inside their bathroom. He paused, seeing Colby’s room empty. He walked back to the bathroom door and knocked lightly. “Colby? You good?” He heard some movement which meant he wasn’t dead or passed out but he hadn’t replied. “Colby?” Sam called again, worry seeping into his voice. 

“I-I’m good!” His best friend finally answered, immediately calming Sam down.

Two seconds later the water turned off and Sam decided that Colby must be alright. He continued heading downstairs for breakfast. When Sam entered the kitchen, he saw Corey and Devyn talking quietly. “Morning.” Sam greeted, heading straight for the fridge. 

“Morning, brother. Colby said anything yet?” Sam sighed at Corey’s question. He didn’t know if it was his place to say anything. 

“Yeah. Things happened that really rattled him.” Corey tilted his head, as if to say go on. “I don’t know if I should share.” 

“It’s okay, Sam. Thanks though.” Devyn replied before walking out of the kitchen, calling Circa. 

“Is he okay, bro?” Corey asked, stopping a few centimetres away from Sam. 

“He will be. I think he just needs time and support.” Corey hummed in response before leaving the kitchen and Sam to have his breakfast in peace. 


	7. Six

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hellooo!! 
> 
> Thank you for reading, like seriously, this means a lot to me. And thank you if you left kudos or a comment. It honestly means the world to me that you guys are enjoying my story. 
> 
> This is my first Sam and Colby story. I hope you guys enjoy it and feel free to leave comments helping me to improve or telling me which part was your favourite. This doesn’t follow any of their videos order.

* * *

 “Hey, Colby?” Brennen flopped onto the couch next to his friend, laying on his back, his head almost in Colby’s lap. When he received no movement, no reaction from the younger boy, he waved a hand in front of Colby’s face. Colby had been sitting on the couch, editing his latest video for most of the day, completely unaware of the world around him. He had been staring at the same scene for a couple of minutes when Brennen had snapped his fingers within inches of his nose.

“What’s up, bro?” Colby blinked a few times before focusing on Brennen’s face.

“As great as it is hanging over here, I should probably get home. Would you drive me?” Colby smirked at his friend’s pout and his fluttering eyelashes.

“Course,” he jumped slightly when Brennen leapt up from the couch and began jumping around the room, yelling ‘thank you’. Colby laughed as he set his laptop down in the kitchen before walking towards the other room where Jay was hanging out with Aaron. “I’m gonna drop Brennen home. Want a lift, Jay?”

“Sure, thanks Colby.”

Once Brennen had calmed down, the three of them packed the Corolla’s boot with the other two’s luggage before Brennen called shotgun, jumping in the passenger seat. Colby scoffed as Jay climbed in the back seat.

“Welcome, I’m Brock, your new Uber driver. Just relax and chill to the radio while I, cough cough five star, drive you home.” Brennen and Jay burst out laughing at Colby’s failed attempt to make any accent. Colby smiled, genuinely happy that he made his friends laugh.

* * *

Colby was driving back to the Traphouse when something caught his eye. He had just dropped Brennen off, as he insisted on being dropped off last, and was about two turns away from his street. His eyes flicked to the rearview mirror, immediately wishing he hadn’t. He turned sharply, eyes roaming the backseat of his car. Nothing. He turned back to glance in the rearview mirror. There was nothing out of place.

Hastily, Colby pulled over to the side of the road, as he struggled to calm his heart down. _It was pulsing underneath his skin within his veins in time with his breathing deafening._ It was just a trick, probably due to his lack of proper sleep. He hopped out of his car and darted to the curb. Colby sat there for a couple of minutes, trying to breathe deeper and slow his heart rate. Trying not to panic.

When he could hear something aside from his heart beating, Colby stood up and hesitantly approached his car. He looked at the backseat, sussing it all out. There was nothing there that shouldn’t be. Colby sighed as he walked back to the driver’s door and hopped back in his car. He dragged his eyes up to the mirror, reluctantly. There was no rope; no weathered, frayed rope sitting on his backseat. There was nothing there.

* * *

Sam wandered down the stairs, looking for his best friend. Circa greeted him at the bottom, running up to him, licking his legs. “Thanks, Circa. Anyone home?” She mooched back into the living and gaming room where Aaron sat. She jumped onto the couch next to him and flopped down. Aaron seemed to be the only one home. “Hey, you know where Colby is?” Aaron barely acknowledged him, concentrating on his tournament. “Dropping Brennen and Jay home.”

“Okay, thanks.”

“Elton’s in the garage.” Aaron added as Sam had turned to walk away. He nodded at Aaron and began to walk into the garage to see what Elton was doing. Before he could touch the garage door, his phone drew his attention as it dinged with a text.

_Canadian Queen: Still on for dinner 2nite? Xx_

15:54

Sam smiled as he remembered their date that he had organised days ago. He sent a quick text back, confirming that he would pick her up at 8 pm. He was really excited as they hadn’t had a date like this for a couple of weeks. While the others had been in Japan, Corey and Devyn often asked Sam and Katrina on double dates. They were fun, but Sam missed having Katrina to himself and he knew that Katrina felt the same way.

The front door opened as Sam shoved his phone in his pocket. Almost recognising his footsteps, Sam ducked out of the kitchen to see Colby hanging his keys on the hook.

“Hey.” Colby jumped and Sam’s eyes narrowed.

“Whats up, bro?” Colby’s voice shook. To anyone else, it wasn’t audible, but to his best friend, it was as clear as day.

“Everything good?” Sam asked, moving closer but at a much slower speed than normal, as if he were approaching a wild animal.

“Y-Yeah.” Colby coughed to try and hide his stuttering. “Guess I’m a little tired. I’m gonna go for a nap.” He darted away from the door and up the stairs before Sam could question him further.

Sam stood in the entrance way, bewildered. He wasn’t sure what to think. _Was Colby telling him the truth? But why did he stutter and jump when Sam greeted him? If Colby was lying, then why? What was he hiding? Was there something wrong? Would Colby even tell him if there was?_

Thoughts jumped around in his head. Sam shook his head; he couldn’t dwell on the things he had no way of knowing about. Colby wasn’t going to give him the answers that he was seeking, not now anyway.

* * *

 Sam walked back into the kitchen, grabbing a bottle of water out of the fridge before heading into the garage. “Hey, Elton.” Sam greeted, casually, taking a sip of water.

“Oh, hey Sam.” Elton paused the clip he was watching and took his headphones off. He spun the chair away from the desk, to face his roommate. “What’s up?”

“Uh,” Sam’s hands found the back of his neck. “Just wanted to see how you’re going with the footage?” Elton studied him for a minute.

“Come here.” Elton stood up from his chair and motioned for Sam to sit there.

“I take it Colby told you what happened.”

“Yeah. Most of it at least, not the details though.” Elton nodded, opening his mouth before shutting it again. “What? What were you gonna say?” Sam raised one eyebrow, daring his older friend to continue. Elton sighed, as he knew he would never be able to persuade Sam to let it go.

“Is he alright? Colby, I mean.” Sam’s gaze dropped to his fingers.

“I don’t know. I mean Colby doesn’t get panic attacks or anything like that. And today, like a few minutes ago, he jumped out of his skin when I said hey.” Sam managed to pull his gaze back to meet Elton’s. “I want to say he will be. But that night definitely rattled him.” This time, Elton’s gaze fell.

Sam’s hands found their way to Elton’s shoulder as Sam stood from the chair. “This isn’t your fault, Elton. Whatever’s up with Colby, is nothing that any of us anticipated.”

“Yeah, I’m sure it’s just because he’s sick or whatever.” The two of them nodded, neither of them actually believing what they appeared to have agreed with.

Elton’s eyes sparked as an idea just popped into his head.

“Sit back down.” He told Sam who did as he was told, the previous conversation completely forgotten. Elton leaned across Sam to press a few keys on his laptop. “Here, just listen to this audio for a couple of seconds.” Elton handed Sam his headphones and then hit play on the recording. They were both silent while the clip played, even though Elton couldn’t hear it.

“Woah.” Sam’s eyes opened wide. “Were you messing around with the mic?”

“Nope. Didn’t even touch it. But get this, that static sound didn’t just happened once. It’s happened multiple times so far. Every time one of us said-“

“Suicide.” Sam finished, catching on. Elton nodded as they both stared at each other for a couple of seconds. “You think that it might be-“

“I don’t know. But it’s not normal. Definitely not something I can explain easily or logically.”

“Maybe you should send it to some professionals or something? See what they think.” Elton’s eyes widened slightly.

“That’s actually a good idea. Thanks, Sam.” Sam smiled before handing Elton back his headphones.

“Happy to help, Uncle Elton.” Sam grabbed his bottle of water and headed back out of the garage. A white shape pushed passed him, running straight to Elton.

“Hi, Circy.” He heard Elton say as Sam closed the door.

Sam headed back into the kitchen, fishing his phone  out of his pocket. He scrolled through his dms on Instagram as he decided how to keep himself busy until he had to pick Kat up. But no matter how much Sam tried, thoughts about his best friend’s health wouldn’t leave him alone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter will be posted on June 18th.  
> As I post a chapter every Tuesday, AEST (normally between 5pm and 12am)
> 
> Don’t forget to follow my Twitter for further updates about when I post.  
> @KittieInfinite  
> https://mobile.twitter.com/KittieInfinite


	8. Seven

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! And Welcome back!!
> 
> I wanted to just quickly thank you all for reading this story, like it means the world to me. And a special thank you if you left kudos and/or a comment. This all means so much that you are enjoying something I’ve written. Just thank you so much. 
> 
> This is my first Sam and Colby story. I hope you guys enjoy it and feel free to leave comments helping me to improve or telling me which part was your favourite. This doesn’t follow any of their videos order.

* * *

 Colby had to restrain himself from slamming his bedroom door shut. He panted as he leaned against his door, trying to catch his breath. Once he was out of Sam’s view, he had booked it to his room. Colby wasn’t trying to avoid Sam, but he didn’t want anyone knowing about what was happening and Sam was the only one he couldn’t lie to.

_What was happening?_

Colby pushed himself off of the door and walked towards his desk, pressing the power button on his laptop. He opened Safari and went straight to his home page: Google. The cursor blinked at him multiple times before Colby began typing.

 

_Symptoms of Trauma_

             _Related searches: Symptoms of Post Traumatic Stress_

 

  **Symptoms may include:** _nightmares, flashbacks, avoidance of related situations, heightened reactivity, anxiety or depressed mood._

**People May experience:**

_Behavioural: agitation, irritability, hostility, social isolation_

_Psychological: flashbacks, fear, severe anxiety, mistrust_

_Mood: loss of interest in hobbies, guilt, loneliness_

_Sleep: insomnia, nightmares_

_Also common: emotional detachment, unwanted thoughts_

 

Colby sucked in a short breath. This was not happening. He did not have PTSD because of a stupid Overnight, when they had done many before. Sure, he could tick some of the boxes but that didn’t mean anything right? Colby continued to read down the page, reaching the note at the bottom.

 

**_Note: PTSD requires medical diagnosis_ **

 

In that case, Colby decided that he couldn’t have PTSD if he was never diagnosed. “I can deal with whatever this is, on my own.” Colby mumbled to himself, closing the browser and turning his laptop off. He pushed away from the desk so he was facing the window behind his bed. “I’m fine.” He sniffled. He sat there for a few seconds before his vision blurred and a sharp pain shot up through his head.

Colby forced himself to move, to grab some Tylenol from their bathroom. His throat burned as he swallowed the pill. His eyes found a spot in the mirror where they became stuck. They tracked every inch of his face, wondering why there was something he didn’t recognise. His eyes seemed foreign to him, they were clouded and less blue than the last time he properly studied them.

His thoughts were distracted when a coughing fit struck him. Each cough sliced through his throat as his eyes watered. Colby ran the water in the sink before cupping one of his hands to drink the water. He coughed most of it back up, but it seemed to do the trick. The coughs were becoming less and less until they eventually stopped, leaving Colby with a raw throat.

He exited the bathroom, listening to see if anyone had heard him, before disappearing into his room. Colby headed straight to his windows, closing the blinds. The light was left off as Colby curled up into a small ball covered by his blanket. He desperately hoped that when he woke up, his headache would be gone and wouldn’t come back. But he knew that it wouldn’t be the case.

* * *

_He was reduced to his hands and knees as he heaved and coughed. Both actions taking a huge toll on his overall energy. He tried to breathe, to stop long enough to call out. But he couldn’t. The whistle wouldn’t work if he couldn’t take a moment to blow air into it. Where were they? Why haven’t they come back for him? Did they not care?_

_He felt the trees coming to life, branches curling around his ankles. Struggling to pull them away, he clawed the earth in front of him, sending dirt all the way under his fingernails. His eyes were wide with panic, as his heart threatened to overload. His throat closed up as the coughing got worse. He was choking._

_He was dying._

_Out of his peripheral vision, he could see the body, twisted and mangled. The world had left it behind. That was all he was going to be. Another body that eventually would scar someone, who would call the authorities and be reported as yet another Suicide. His roommates forced to speak at his funeral, talk about how they blamed themselves for not seeing the signs-_

_NO!_

_He scrambled, hands diving into the earth. He would not die next to a body. Not in Suicide Forest. The branches snapped and he stumbled to his feet. He ran, blindly. Not knowing, or caring, where he was going. A solid wall propelled him backwards, sending him toppling to the ground. He looked up, body freezing in fear. It had to have been the same one, just hanging there limply. The same weathered, frayed rope wrapped around-_

_No, no._

_Colby_

_Colby?_

“Colby!”

* * *

Colby jolted upright in his bed. He pried his eyes open, only to slam them shut as the sun blinded him. “Sorry.” A small voice matched movement as the sun was blocked out. Colby hesitantly opened his eyes again, content with the low light in his room. He ran his fingers through his wet hair, “fuck.”

“Colby?” His eyes snapped to the owner of the voice. Sam. When did he get there?

“S-Sam? What’s going on?” Sam sighed as he sat on Colby’s chair, at his desk.

“You were shouting in your sleep. I’m assuming it was a nightmare.” Colby stared at his best friend as he tried to remember what he had been dreaming about. The visions slammed into his mind, forcing him to close his eyes, once more.

The two sat in silence for a while, as Colby collected his thoughts.

“What’s the time?” Sam slipped his hand in his pocket, revealing his phone.

“Just after 1 pm.”

“What? Wait, seriously?” That couldn’t be right, because that meant Colby and slept for over twenty hours. He didn’t even have dinner, did he even eat lunch yesterday?

“Yeah. You were passed out when I left last night to pick Katrina up. I only got home about twenty minutes ago. Heard you yelling when I came up to grab my camera.”

“Sorry, Sam.” At that moment, another coughing fit hit Colby. He was barely aware of Sam moving to sit beside him, rubbing his back. Colby felt his throat getting tighter and his chest hurting with every cough.

Suddenly a glass of water was passed to him. “Here.” Sam handed him the glass, keeping one of his hands on the cup. He didn’t fully trust that Colby wouldn’t spill it when he coughed. Colby’s hand shook as he brought the water up to his mouth and took a sip. “Small sips, at first.” Sam reminded him, forcing Colby to move the glass away.

Finally, he stopped coughing and leaned back against his headboard. Colby glanced at Sam and immediately felt the guilt swell inside of him. “‘M sorry, Sam.”

“It’s ok, Colby. How are you now?” Colby shrugged, unsure of how he was feeling, unsure of how much he wanted to share.

“Tired. My chest aches.” Sam half heartedly laughed at his answer.

“You have been coughing for like ten minutes, dude.” Colby returned a half smile as he let his head fall back and his eyes close.

“How long have you been sick, Colby?” Sam’s words startled him. He had convinced himself that Sam had left. His eyes opened drowsily, struggling to focus on his best friend’s face.

“‘M not sick.” Sam scoffed.

“Right, sure. You normally cough your lungs up when you wake up, and struggle to keep your eyes open.” Colby didn’t have an answer to that. He hadn’t been feeling great, but he hadn’t been sleeping great either. So of course he wasn’t going to be feeling great during the day.

“I’ll get you some medication and then try to sleep it off, Colbs.” Colby hummed in response, feeling his eyes slide shut as he readjusted himself so he was laying on the pillows. He didn’t hear Sam come back, but a hand was shaking him and offering him two pills. Obediently, Colby took the pills and washed them down with water before, once again, falling into the realm of dreams.

* * *

 Sam padded back out of Colby’s room, softly pulling the door closed. He rested for a second, leaning on the door as his fingers ran through his hair. Sam and Colby were rarely sick, but it did happen every once in a while. Not usually to the extreme where they needed the other to take care of them, though. Sam sighed as he pushed off the door and headed into his room, where his camera sat on his desk. He grabbed the camera and begin his journey back downstairs.

* * *

 “What took you so long, Sam?” Katrina playfully whined, as she was waiting in the kitchen. She was sitting in the chair near the fridge, patiently waiting for Sam to return.

“Colby’s sick.” Sam placed the camera on the table and held his hands out to his girlfriend. She accepted his embrace, pulling him close.

“Poor Colby. How bad is it?” She asked as Sam rested his head on her head.

“Not too bad. But I don’t want to leave him alone.” Katrina nodded, her head bobbing his. They pulled away from each other, softly laughing.

“Well, we were going to hang out here anyway, right?”

“Yeah. You don’t mind, then?” Sam asked.

“Not at all. Besides, if you’re worried about him, then I am too. It’s better if we stay here, somewhere we can check on him every so often. Especially since everyone else is out.” Sam agreed.

They walked into the other room, where they usually film their videos. Sam set up his camera on the tripod and the two of them sat on the couch in the corner. “You good to film?” Sam asked as he adjusted the settings on his camera and pressed record.

“Yep.” Katrina responded, flashing a bubbly smile as she pulled her boyfriend to the couch.

“What’s up, guys?! It’s Sam...”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter will be posted on June 25th.  
> As I post a chapter every Tuesday, AEST (normally between 6pm and 11pm)
> 
> Don’t forget to follow my Twitter for further updates about when I post.  
> @KittieInfinite  
> https://mobile.twitter.com/KittieInfinite


	9. Eight

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi Everyone!!! 
> 
> Can I just take a moment to tell you that I appreciate you.  
> I appreciate you for being here (in general), I appreciate you reading this right now and I appreciate any support you have shown me, such as consistently reading my work, commenting and/or leaving kudos. 
> 
> As much as I love writing, you are who I write for. All of you reading these words right now - I write for you. So thank you so much for reading. 
> 
> That’s all :)  
> _______________  
> This is my first Sam and Colby story. I hope you guys enjoy it and feel free to leave comments helping me to improve or telling me which part was your favourite. This doesn’t follow any of their videos order.

* * *

 It was about 6 pm when Colby next opened his eyes. It was a relief to see that the sun had already set, his eyes easily adjusting to the darkness of his room. It took him about a dozen seconds to register where he was and what was going on. When he finally remembered, his throat tightened and he involuntarily gagged. Colby jumped out of bed, causing him to fall against his couch as a wave of dizziness hit.

He didn’t have time to wait for the dizziness to wash away as he felt himself gag again, so he stumbled to his bedroom door. His hands shaking as he managed to fling open the door and then fall against the bathroom. He gagged once again, feeling liquid sliding up his throat. Pushing open the bathroom door, Colby lunged for the toilet as he heaved.

He hugged the toilet as his head spun and his throat constricted. He didn’t hear the two sets of footsteps which dashed up the stairs at his sudden, loud movements. Nor did he hear the muffled conversation as one set of footsteps continued into the bathroom and the other disappeared back downstairs. Colby wasn’t even aware of the hand rubbing his back as he continued to empty his stomach.

“It’s okay, Colby.” The other set of footsteps returned as Katrina handed Sam a bottle of water and a wet face washer. “Thanks, Kat.” Sam murmured as he turned his attention to his best friend. Colby sagged into Sam’s arms as his body lost every ounce of energy. Sam moved him slightly so he could give Colby the bottle of water. “Small sips, Colbs.”

 

Colby managed to take two small sips before he pushed the water away, trying to sit up by himself. He blinked as his eyes roamed around the bathroom, widening slightly as he recognised Katrina and Sam. “W-when did you g-get here?” He winced at the sound of his voice. Colby thought it was getting better, but right now it sounded just like it did that night.

He didn’t miss the quick glance between Sam and Katrina. “Colby, we came up here when we heard you bash through one of the doors.” Katrina answered carefully, moving so she could kneel down next to Sam. Colby nodded as he blinked several more times, trying to get his bearings.

“How’re you feeling, bro?” Sam asked, concerned with how slow Colby’s eyes moved to meet his.

“‘M fine.” Sam scoffed but held his hands out.

“You wanna stand up?” Colby slowly nodded as he stretched out his hands, just missing Sam’s. Sam grasped onto Colby’s outstretched hands and immediately noticed that they were shaking, badly. “Colby, you’re not fine. I think you should go-“

“No!” Colby’s shot voice protested as he knew exactly what Sam was going to suggest.

“Colby, you’re sick. You’re throwing up and you’ve been out of it for a lot longer than just now.” Katrina nodded in agreement as Sam began to stand, holding Colby’s hands very tightly, as Sam supported Colby’s weight.

“‘M fine, Sammy. Just... just jet-jet lagged.”

“No you’re not, Colby. There’s something wrong.” Katrina stated, her hand rubbing small circles on his shoulder.

“I’m fine! I just need some more rest.” He lifted his gaze to meet Katrina’s and then his best friend’s. “Promise. I’m good.” Sam’s brows furrowed, looking skeptical.

“Colby-“

“Please, Sam. I’m just having an off day. Please.” Sam sighed as he and Katrina helped Colby to his feet and into his bedroom.

“If you’re not better in the morning, then-“

“I know. But I will be.” Colby knew that Sam could see the pleading in his eyes but was too out of it to care.

“Get some rest, Colby.” Katrina said, handing him some medication and the bottle of water that Colby didn’t remember giving back.

Footsteps moved away from his bed, the lights were turned off and his door closed. Colby remembered them saying something before they left but he couldn’t find the words in his muddled head. But it didn’t worry him as the black abyss, known as sleep, dragged him down.

* * *

 The next morning, Colby woke to find a note attached to his arm.

 

_Went out with Kat,_

_Elton’s in the garage and Corey and Devyn are in bed._

_Don’t know about Aaron._

_Hope you feel better, call me if you need me._

_\- Sam_

 

A smile found its way to Colby’s face as he read through Sam’s note. These little things reminded Colby how lucky he was that Sam was his best friend and vice versa. It was nice knowing someone always had your back.

Colby pushed himself up and out of bed, finding no headache at all. He shuffled downstairs and into the kitchen, grabbing a bottle of water. He took a sip as his other hand ran through his hair. As much as he wanted to be feeling better, it didn’t make sense. He had thrown up and been almost delirious yesterday and now he was just fine? Not to mention, he didn’t remember having any dreams. No bad ones, no good ones. Nothing but darkness.

A loud sound from behind him made him jump and whirl around, arms coming up to protect himself against whatever it was. He let out the breath, he didn’t know he had been holding, as Elton quickly raised his own hands, but to show innocence instead of defence. It was just his older roommate, who had yanked open the garage door, nothing more.

“Didn’t mean to scare you, Colby.”

“A-all good, Elton.” Colby answered, lowering his hands and trying to slow his heart.

“I was actually just coming to find you anyway.” Colby hummed in response as he took another sip of his water. “I want you to listen to something.” Colby nodded but swallowed the water sharply, causing him to start coughing.

“You okay?” Elton had just turned around to head back into the garage when he heard Colby practically start choking. He twisted his head around to glance at Colby. He gave Elton a thumbs up and motioned to his water. Elton chuckled as he realised what had happened. “You know, I’m gonna have to take that water off you, if you can’t manage to drink it properly.”

“Haha, Uncle Elton.” Colby managed to spit out between coughs. He took another sip, trying to soothe his throat as he leaned over the kitchen counter.

The two guys stood there waiting for Colby to finish coughing. Once he had everything under control, Elton took a small step towards the open garage door. “You good? Can I show you now?”

“Yeah, yeah. Lead the way.” Colby, thinking ahead, left his water on the counter and followed his older friend into the garage where Elton had his set up.

 

“Okay, first thing’s first. I showed this to Sam the other day. But just listen to this.” Elton handed Colby the headphones as soon as Colby had sat down at Elton’s desk. Colby slipped them on over his ears and watched the screen as Elton pressed play. It shouldn’t have been such a surprise to Colby that the footage was from Suicide Forest, but he felt his heart jump and his breathing catch. He caught the reflection of Elton’s eyes, watching him, in the top of the screen where the footage soaked into darkness.

Colby averted his gaze back to the footage as he consciously listened for anything weird. He tried to ignore exactly where they were stumbling through and what Brennen and Jay were saying. But when the mic started glitching, taking over the audio, Colby jolted, pulling the headphones off and staring at Elton. “That’s weird, dude. What was that?”

“I don’t know. It’s not the mic, cause it doesn’t do it all the time and I used that mic the next day, remember?” Colby nodded as his skeptical mind raced through every logical reason he could think of. None could explain what he had just heard. “And Jay and Brennen were talking about suicide at the time when we completely lose the audio.”

“You don’t think-“

“Sam suggested I reach out to other people.”

“Get their opinions, go from there.” Colby nodded as he continued Elton’s thought.

“Yeah. But that’s not the only thing.”

Colby watched as Elton leaned over his shoulder, once again, and skipped through the footage. “This is where we talking about going to the tent or not.” When Elton said the word tent, chills crawled up Colby’s spine as his breathing caught again. He prayed that Elton didn’t notice anything as he refocused on the screen in front of him. He slipped the headphones on again and motioned for Elton to play the clip.

Colby had to listen three times but there it was, clear as day. They were all discussing about whether to go or not and another voice chimes in with ‘go home.’ Like an echo or something, but neither of them remember hearing anything like that at all. “Is this the only time it happens?” Colby asked, feeling his eyes widen slightly.

“So far, it’s the only one I found. But I’m sure the viewers will find other things. If they do, you down for a reaction video?” Colby knew this was the time to come clean. Tell Elton that actually he didn’t want anything to do with the memory of that place. That all Colby wanted to do was forget that night entirely. That he wasn’t doing okay with what he had seen and that he potentially had PTSD because of it. That he wasn’t okay.

 

“Sure, dude. Whatever you need.” Elton nodded, his mind obviously racing with ideas for the video and how to edit the footage.

“Cool. Well, uh, I should probably get back to it, then.” Colby looked down and realised he was still sitting in Elton’s chair, who was casually leaning against the desk.

“Oh yeah, of course.” Colby quickly stood up, giving Elton back his headphones and practically ran out of the garage.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter will be posted on July 2nd (oooh my birthday month!) 
> 
> I post a chapter every Tuesday, AEST (normally between 6pm and 11pm)
> 
> Don’t forget to follow my Twitter for further updates about when I post.  
> @KittieInfinite  
> https://mobile.twitter.com/KittieInfinite


	10. Nine

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey Guys!!!!!
> 
> A quick moment: you are all amazing. Truly. You are all so special and worth so much. 
> 
> And I wanted to thank you all for reading, cause that means so much to me. And a special thank you to those of you who go above and beyond and leave comments and kudos. Thank you for supporting me, all of you!!!!!
> 
> And remember, you guys are the ones who I’m writing for and I love doing it. Just thank you all :)  
> _______________  
> This is my first Sam and Colby story. I hope you guys enjoy it and feel free to leave comments helping me to improve or telling me which part was your favourite. This doesn’t follow any of their videos order.

* * *

 Once he was back in the kitchen, Colby snatched his bottle of water and took a large sip, leaving the lid on the counter. What the hell was he thinking? What didn’t he tell Elton the truth? Why did he tell Elton that he was done for a possible reaction video? He was fucking terrified of simply the memory, let alone, watching the footage. He can’t do this, he can’t. He’s making himself sick and tearing himself apart.

Colby’s fingers left the bottle and wound themselves in brown strands before pulling tightly. He didn’t even hear the bottle hitting the floor or feel the water splashing his legs and feet.

“Why can’t I just tell them?!” Colby’s hands slipped from his hair to smash onto the kitchen counter, before feeling his weight fall. His arms collapsed, catching his body on the corner of the counter. Colby hissed and cursed as the counter jutted straight into his stomach. Shakily, he moved his arms to push himself back up. He pulled his hoodie up to inspect his stomach, cringing at the red line that was now stretching across his body.

 

“Colby?” His head whipped in the direction of the stairs as Corey called his name.

“Oh, hey Corey.” Colby greeted as he hurriedly pulled his hoodie back over his stomach, placing one hand onto the counter to appear as casual as possible.

“What happened, bro?” Corey questioned, stopping at the entrance to the kitchen, eyeing the water puddle and the empty bottle on the floor.

Colby’s eyes followed his roommate’s gaze and widened as he finally realised that he had dropped the bottle. “Oh, uh-“ Colby’s other hand snaked its way to the back of his neck. “Uh, I-it slipped out of my hands.” Corey nodded slowly, as he walked towards the mop that was leaning near the garage door, left out from the last time they made a mess. When Colby met Corey’s gaze, Colby knew instantly that his roommate didn’t believe him.

Corey began to mop up the water as Colby moved around to the other side of the kitchen. “Are you gonna tell me what really happened, bro?” Corey asked, not even glancing away from the puddle, as he continued mopping.

“I-I told you what happened. It slipped. I’m clumsy, okay?” Colby didn’t mean to get so defensive, but he felt a little hurt that Corey wouldn’t just believe him for once. Why did he have to constantly explain himself?

“Why did it slip?”

“I don’t know! It just did!” Colby snapped, immediately regretting it once the words were out in the open. That made Corey stop what he was doing.

“Fine! Don’t tell me, I don’t care! You can clean up your own mess!” Corey snapped back at Colby, throwing the mop to the floor and storming back upstairs.

* * *

Colby found himself sinking into one of the chairs in the kitchen, head falling into his hands. “What’s wrong with me?”

His head lifted at a soft buzzing sound. His eyes glanced, blearily, around the kitchen, trying to pinpoint the location of the sound. His phone lay on the kitchen counter, where he must have left it when he followed Elton into the garage. “I don’t even remember bringing it down with me.” Colby mumbled as he dragged himself over to his phone.

 

Brennen: DUUUUDE

9:06

Brennen: u have to c this

9:08

Brennen: seriously bro

9:10

 

Colby heaved a sigh as he typed out a response to Brennen, a deep pit forming in his stomach as a small part of him knew what the answer was going to be.

 

Colby: whats up, bro

9:12

Brennen: u gotta c it cant explain

9:12

Brennen: ur place or mine

9:12

Colby: I’ll come to u

9:13

 

He locked his phone, not bothering with the buzzing that signalled a reply and headed to the garage. He knocked on the door, calling out to Elton. “Going to Brennen’s!” He received a muffled response.

“See ya!”

Colby grabbed his keys off the hook by the front door and walked outside to his car. His hand touched the handle of his car door before his eyes darted to the backseat. Consciously, he took a deep breath as he opened the car door and glanced at the rearview mirror. He breathed deep as he sat in the driver’s seat, turning the key in the ignition.

He closed his eyes as his hands moved the car into reverse, foot on the brake, and released the emergency brake. The car began moving once he had reopened his eyes, but this time with a clear mind.

* * *

Colby didn’t remember the drive to Brennen’s place, as he was too focused on not thinking. But he wasn’t concerned by that, instead focusing on putting the car into park and putting the emergency brake on. He took his seatbelt off as he breathed another deep breath. “I can do this. It’ll be fine.” He told himself before pulling the keys out of the ignition and hopping out of the car.

It was a slow walk to Brennen’s front door, with Colby trying to pretend that they wouldn’t be talking about Suicide Forest but instead he was just going to mess around with Brennen like normal. He didn’t have chance to knock though, as the door swung open at the moment when he had just lifted his hand.

Colby had two seconds to register the camera before it was pushed into his face. He allowed a big smile to grace his face. “I’ve missed you, Col...bae. How long has it been?” Brennen greeted, dramatically, wrapping Colby into a huge hug.

“Oh, dude! It’s been sooo long, like two days.” Colby mimed wiping a tear from his eye.

“Two whole days. We can’t let it go that long again.”

“I know, bro. I was losing my mind without you.”

Brennen laughed as he let Colby walk into his place and closed the door behind them. “So guys, Colby’s come over to help me look at some of the clips we filmed at Suicide Forest.” Brennen told the camera, facing it towards himself which allowed Colby to properly collect himself. “But, you guys can’t see it yet, so we’ll see you in the next clip!” Brennen turned off his camera as he directed Colby to his laptop.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter will be posted on July 9th (closer to my birthday ;) 
> 
> I post a chapter every Tuesday, AEST (normally between 6pm and 11pm)
> 
> I hope you enjoyed!!  
> Please leave a comment letting me know if you did! 
> 
> Don’t forget to follow my Twitter for further updates about when I post.  
> @KittieInfinite  
> https://mobile.twitter.com/KittieInfinite


	11. Ten

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hellooo!!! 
> 
> Did you guys hear that Sam and Colby have been nominated as Choice Youtuber for the teen choice awards?! I’m so happy for them, they deserve this and I really hope they win. 
> 
> But anyway, I wanted to say thank you to everyone reading this story. You guys are truly amazing, thanks for sticking around so long, you all make me smile so much. 
> 
> And a special thanks to those who have left kudos and comments, you guys never fail to make my day. So thank you all so much for continually supporting me and this story. Thank you. 
> 
> I love writing and I love writing for you guys. Thank you for giving me an audience. 
> 
> There is some language in this chapter. Just be warned.  
> ____________________
> 
> This is my first Sam and Colby story. I hope you guys enjoy it and feel free to leave comments helping me to improve or telling me which part was your favourite. This doesn’t follow any of their videos order.

* * *

 The garage door squeaked open as a head peeked around the corner. Seeing that their older roommate hadn’t heard the door and was still consumed in whatever he was up to, the head opened the door and stepped into the garage. Claws scratched across the floor as Circa scrambled to greet the newcomer. That was what alerted Elton. He paused his laptop and pulled the headphones off, turning to face Circa.

“Hey Elton.” Corey was, currently, kneeling in front of Circa who had dropped back to the floor, rolling over for a tummy tickle. Corey was all too happy to oblige. Elton couldn’t keep the smile off his face as his baby was being shown affection.

“What’s up, Corey?” The roommate in question lifted his head, eyes serious.

“I wanted to talk to you.” One hand found itself scratching the back of Corey’s head as he struggled to find the right words.

“About...?”

Corey sighed. “About Colby.”

* * *

Sam found himself worrying about the very same thing over at his girlfriend’s place. They had gone out to breakfast at some retro café that Katrina had wanted to go to since it opened. Sam had treated his girlfriend who had spent the morning trying to keep his mind from worrying about his best friend. They had laughed and joked around, giving each other their full attention. After breakfast, they had walked around the centre of LA before stopping to get Mochi and heading back to her place.

Which is where he was now; sat on the couch, clearly worrying about Colby.

“Sam, he’s gonna be okay. You know Colby.” Katrina wrapped her arms around her boyfriend, one hand playing with his hair. She met his eyes and smiled. “Seriously. He’s gonna be okay.” Sam returned her smile with a small one of his own before running his own fingers through his hair.

“I know. It’s just- That place really rattled him and I think his stress is making him physically sick.”

“Then it’s a good thing he’s got such amazing roommates and an even more incredible best friend to look out for him.” Sam scoffed but Katrina could tell he was grateful for her kind words.

“I guess, knowing what kind of things he saw... I just don’t know how to help him.” That was the crux of the issue, the reason Sam was beating himself up over Colby; because he didn’t know how to help and that was hurting Katrina as well.

“Think about this positively. Colby doesn’t normally talk about the things that are upsetting him-“

“But I’m his best friend. He should tell me about these things and I should know how to help him.” Sam sat forward his head in his hands and his arms on his knees. Katrina’s hand began rubbing his back, knowing that he needed to vent.

“I’ve never experienced what he did in Japan and that worries me because we did everything together and shared all of our experiences. I’m supposed to know how to help him but how can I when I don’t understand what he experienced?”

“Because you know Colby. You don’t need to have experienced what he did, you just need to know how Colby deals with the things that upset him. Sam, look at me.”

Katrina trailed his back to his chin with her fingers and lifted his head so their eyes could meet.

“You can help Colby by showing him that you are there for him. By giving him someone who he can be vulnerable with. By being who you are, that’s how you can help him.” Sam nodded as he breathed out, obviously calming himself down. He met her eyes again and their close proximity made it possible that she missed him leaning in until his lips brushed hers. Their foreheads met as they disconnected their lips.

“Thank you, Kat. I don’t know what I’d do without you.” He mumbled. She giggled softly.

“You’ll never have to know.”

* * *

The next hour was spent with Colby and Brennen sitting on the couch focused on Brennen’s laptop which was in front of them, on the coffee table. They both had one earphone each as Brennen showed Colby all the interesting parts in his video. He was fast forwarding and rewinding the footage, cranking the volume and pausing at milliseconds. The entire time, Colby played the supportive friend; controlling his breathing and reacting appropriately. He prayed that Brennen couldn’t tell that his heart wasn’t in it, but didn’t have the energy to cover it up.

There were issues with the audio, which Colby had expected after listening to Elton’s footage, and there were a couple of moments were noises that could be interpreted as voices seemed to be talking to them. All of it came together to make the video scarier than what Colby had been expecting.

 

They finished checking out the footage and were now sitting in silence as Colby absentmindedly played with his rings, yet again.

“How have you been since that night?” Brennen’s question came out of the blue startled Colby who stopped what he was doing to look at his friend.

“Okay.” Colby finally forced out, his eyes falling to his hands which had begun to fiddle with his rings again.

“Same here. Nothing’s really happened but I feel on edge at all times.” Brennen confessed, leaning back against the couch. “Probably because we lost that damn coin.” He mused, oblivious to Colby’s fiddling.

“It was a mistake.” Colby mumbled, unknowingly drawing Brennen’s full attention.

“Something happened at the Traphouse, bro?” Colby’s eyes darted to Brennen’s, almost as if he was unaware that he had said anything until he received a response.

Staring into his friend’s eyes, Colby knew that there was no way of getting out of this conversation. But that didn’t mean he wouldn’t try to dilute the seriousness of it all.

“Something’s always happening at the Traphouse, dude. I mean Corey and Aaron swear that it’s haunted, especially the garage, and Sam’s constantly summoning demons into his room, so...”

“You know that’s not what I meant, Colby.” Once again, they were locked in a staring competition, each daring the other to give in. It was a rare moment of seriousness between the two, one that neither of them were one hundred percent comfortable with. Colby lost their little competition as his eyes flickered back to his hands. So much for keeping the conversation light and fun.

“I don’t know what’s going on, Brennen. Everything just feels weird.” Brennen raised his eyebrows but stayed quiet as he waited for Colby to continue.

“I feel like-“ he took a deep sigh, as Colby realised that he was actually going to tell someone the truth but strangely enough, he felt at ease with admitting his issues to someone. “I feel like I haven’t woken up yet.” He heard Brennen suck in a breath, clearly shocked with what his friend was confessing.

“Colby-“

“Like I’m not actually here and my mind’s trying to tell me that. I see flashes, bro, flashes of the forest, of things we didn’t actually see but talked about. And they feel so real. These flashes feel more real than anything I’ve done for the past three days. I don’t know what’s wrong with me.” Colby finally admitted, breathing hard after he finished with his eyes still downcast.

“Fuck, bro. Have you told anyone else?” Colby just shook his head, visibly withdrawing into himself. “Why haven’t you told anyone?” Brennen asked, half not expecting an answer, recognising Colby’s retreat. Silence consumed the room for a couple of minutes before Colby answered.

“I don’t know. Didn’t wanna worry anyone, didn’t think it was this bad.”

Brennen’s eyes widened as he finally let himself look, really look, at Colby. He noticed the red in his friend’s eyes and the dark circles underneath them. He saw the normally bright, ocean-blue had faded to a pale, almost grey-blue. Thinking back, Colby looked the same when he had dropped Brennen home, when they had hopped on the flight, when they had piled back in the rental car to drive away from the Forest. The signs were there, he just didn’t understand; he had let himself believe Colby’s pretence.

“How bad is it?” Brennen swallowed when he saw Colby contemplating the question. As if his friend was deciding to the tell the truth or not.

“I was sick yesterday. Like completely out of it-sick, Sam took care of me.”

“God, Colby.”

“I’ll be fine, Brennen. Guess I just need a little extra time to deal with it all.” Colby flashed Brennen a half smile, attempting to convince him that it was the truth, that everything he had just said wasn’t that bad.

Colby’s mind raced as he watched Brennen. He needed to make this up to his friend, convince him that he was fine and that he will be, he’s just going through a rough patch. But if he just told him outright, Brennen would challenge Colby and find out that he wasn’t okay nor will he be for a while.

An idea popped into Colby’s head, one that would succeed in making Brennen believe him. “I’m starving, you?” Confusion plagued his friend’s face as he nodded slightly. “I’ve been craving Tender Greens for days, weeks even. And you need some stuff for your vlog.” Colby stood up as he finished speaking, brushing his jeans off. He glanced at Brennen, this time a full smile plastered across his face. Brennen sighed as he relented, reaching for his camera.

A quick press of a button and the camera was recording, both of the boys slipping into their comfortable and carefree space. “You guys are in for a treat when that video goes up, aren’t they Colby?”

“Oh for sure, bro. Craziest and scariest night of my life.”

“You can say that again. Anyways, now we’re off to our date spot: mmm mmm good.”

“Oh yea, mmm mmm good. Because they haven’t given us that sponsorship yet.” Both Colby and Brennen gave a glare to the camera, before erupting into chuckles. Colby loved filming videos so it was easy to pretend everything was okay in front of the camera.

 

The boys left Brennen’s place, laughter and smiles being recorded for all their fans. Both of them pretending that they didn’t hear the ding of their YouTube notifications, ignoring what it actually said.

 

TFIL uploaded: OVERNIGHT AT SUICIDE FOREST (Warning: Incredibly Scary)

Just now

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the end... of part 1. 
> 
> The first chapter of part 2 will be posted on July 16th (we’re getting closer to my B’day) 
> 
> I post a chapter every Tuesday, AEST (normally between 6pm and 11pm)
> 
> I hope you enjoyed!!  
> Please leave a comment letting me know if you did!
> 
> Don’t forget to follow my Twitter for further updates about when I post.  
> @KittieInfinite  
> https://www.twitter.com/KittieInfinite


	12. Part 2: Eleven

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey Everyone!!!!
> 
> You. Are. Amazing. Truly. 
> 
> You, yes the one reading this right now, are incredible. 
> 
> Thank you for reading. You have no idea how much I appreciate it. Words don’t mean much unless someone’s reading them. 
> 
> And a quick special thanks to those of you who leave kudos and write me comments. I love hearing what you guys think about every chapter. 
> 
> ____________________
> 
> This is my first Sam and Colby story. I hope you guys enjoy it and feel free to leave comments helping me to improve or telling me which part was your favourite. This doesn’t follow any of their videos order.  
> Be warned, there is swearing and cursing used in this story.

* * *

 Over the next few days, Colby had been getting better. Brennen texted him every day, three times a day to make sure Colby was still okay. Each time he smiled, happy that he had surrounded himself with such caring friends. Sam made sure to eat one meal with Colby each day, giving them time to just be themselves without worrying about anything else. Again, Colby was thankful for these meals as he didn’t realise how much he had missed his best friend, brother, while he had been in Japan. 

He never went into more detail about how he was feeling from Japan, aside from what he had told Brennen, and no one pushed him. For which he was grateful. Colby knew that eventually he was going to have to face everything that he was working so hard with pushing deep, deep down, but that day would not come for a while. 

Every morning, Colby felt a little more like himself and could see the colour blooming in his eyes. He was actually sleeping through the night, not having a nightmare plagued his dreams every night. He hadn’t had another headache or thrown up again. Colby was feeling and looking like how he was before Japan. His throat hadn’t been scratchy for days and his voice was back completely. He was seemingly back to normal. 

Normal, if you ignored how he avoided talking about Japan and scrolled passed anything in his Twitter feed that even so much as mentioned Japan, Suicide, Forest or even TFIL. Normal, if you pretended that he wasn’t avoiding all of the comments and tweets about filming a reaction video. Normal, if you were oblivious to his youtube history and his newfound habit of watching his old videos. 

He was _seemingly_ back to normal. 

Today, however, was different. It began with Colby waking up from a restful, dreamless sleep. After his shower, when he stared at himself in the mirror, he could easily recognise himself, something that hadn’t been easy when they had gotten back to Los Angeles. It had started out a good day. 

 

He and Sam had gone out for breakfast, sadly having to end it early so Sam could drop Colby home before picking Katrina up. But the boys had enjoyed their time together. They parked Sam’s car in a random car park, one that they had never parked in before, and had just walked to the nearest place open for breakfast. Which happened to be McDonalds, but neither were complaining. 

They talked about the upcoming Sam and Colby videos that they needed to film and when they were going to be able to do that, before turning the conversation away from YouTube. They joked and messed around as if they were fifteen years old. Halfway through their breakfast, Sam was keeled over the table, holding his stomach. “Stop, Colby. Please, for my sanity.” He found it difficult to speak because every time he opened his mouth, more laughter sprouted out. 

It was one of the good days. 

* * *

 Sadly though, the world had other plans for Colby. A single text undid all of his progress. Sam had dropped him home an hour ago, and he had convinced Corey to play Rocket League with him. They were laughing and shoving each off of the couch, competitive nature kicking in, but Colby’s phone buzzed during one of their matches. With a glare from Corey and a chuckle from Colby, the game was paused and the latter checked his phone. 

A small sense of dread appeared in his stomach as Elton’s name appeared on his screen. But he forced himself to look passed that, convincing himself that Elton’s text had nothing to do with, with the thing that he wasn’t thinking about, not at all. He opened the text message and allowed his eyes to gloss over the text in front of him. It took his mind a couple of seconds to process what the words actually said and the meaning behind them. But when he did, he felt the world slipping from underneath him. 

 

_Uncle Elton: u free today @ 4? Suicide Forest reaction?_

12:43

 

He accidentally let slip a sigh which drew Corey’s attention.

“Everything okay, brother?” Colby nodded, obviously struggling to take his eyes off of the screen. 

“Elton wants to film a reaction to the Suicide Forest video.” Corey was silent as he watched Colby, closely. His roommate let his phone fall into his lap as he began twirling his rings around his fingers, eyes glazed over; clearly in deep thought. It was no secret that Colby had decided not to watch any part of the Suicide Forest video, aside from the parts that Elton had showed him before, even so much as asking Elton to edit his own video. No one had questioned Colby’s choices as he seemed to be doing so much better.

Corey sucked in a sharp breath as he debated about whether he should say something to his roommate or not. His good heart got the best of him. 

“You know you don’t have to, right?” Corey’s words seemed to startle Colby as his head snapped, so that their eyes met. “I mean, Elton can film a reaction video without you. Jay and Brennen were there.” Corey heard the words Colby was going to say before he even opened his mouth. “I mean, you know. If you’re busy, you shouldn’t cancel your plans when he can easily film it without you.” Colby flashed him a small smile but sighed anyway. 

“Nah, I should be there. For Elton.”   


With that, Colby turned his attention back to his phone, quickly typing out a reply which left Corey to focus back on the television. Colby snuck a glance at Corey as he sent the message, fingers shaking as he almost dropped his phone. Corey seemed to be intent on ignoring whatever Colby was up to and for that, Colby was thankful. 

* * *

Four o’clock came around a lot quicker than Colby was hoping for. He had been trying to keep himself busy. He had managed to convince Corey to play quite a few matches in Rocket League before Devyn had interrupted, reminding Corey about their afternoon date. Colby had waved him off, telling him to have fun and have Devyn back by 6pm. The couple had walked out, their laughter still ringing in Colby’s ears. 

With Corey gone, Sam gone and Aaron probably steaming fortnite, Colby sighed and began brainstorming ideas of things to do on his own. He decided that he could probably film some stuff for his vlog and then finish some editing he had. He heaved himself off of the couch and dragged himself upstairs. Why did he say yes to Elton? Why couldn’t he have taken the excuse that Corey clearly laid out for him? Why did he love torturing himself? 

The next few hours passed and Colby knew that everything he had filmed and edited today would have to be redone, as his heart wasn’t in it and he knew that his fans deserved better than that. So he had switched to his habit of watching his old videos, pausing at strange times throughout the video, simply studying himself. Although it was exactly 4pm, Colby decided that Elton could come up here and get him when everything was ready. 

However, Elton didn’t come up and get Colby, but rather sent Brennen to fetch him once he and Jay had shown up. 

* * *

Brennen saw that Colby’s door was left ajar and instead of knocking, just pushed it open. He immediately saw Colby curled up on his computer chair, hunched over the desk, watching a five second clip of himself. What Brennen didn’t know was that the clip was from a video before they went to Japan. 

“Colby! Time to film!” Brennen had knocked on his open door as he yelled, thinking Colby was listening to audio when in actuality he had been watching the clip muted. His heart raced as he slowly took the headphones off and placed them on his laptop which he had closed a second before. 

“Well why are we still up here, then?” Colby flashed his friend his signature totally-okay smile, and followed Brennen downstairs into the garage. 

Colby, in his hurry to pretend like he was perfectly fine, missed the concerned look Brennen gave him as Colby untangled himself. It was an unusual position for Colby to be in when he was editing and so Brennen was concerned that there was something else going on, something that Colby wouldn’t want to bring attention to whatsoever. So Brennen didn’t mention anything about it, instead praying in his head, that whatever happened in the next hour or so, wouldn’t backtrack his friend. 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is only the beginning... of part 2. 
> 
> Next chapter will be posted on July 23rd (three days before my b’day)
> 
> I post a chapter every Tuesday, AEST (normally between 6pm and 11pm)
> 
> I hope you enjoyed!!  
> Please leave a comment letting me know if you did!
> 
> Don’t forget to follow my Twitter for further updates about when I post  
> @KittieInfinite  
> https://www.twitter.com/KittieInfinite


	13. Twelve

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello all!!!
> 
> I honestly appreciate every single one of you who is reading this right now. You guys are the absolute best. Seriously. 
> 
> Thank you for your consistent support, it’s really appreciated. Every single kudos and every single comment and of course, the simple reading of my chapters. Just thank you. I don’t know if I would have kept writing this story without you guys. So thank you. 
> 
> ____________________
> 
> This is my first Sam and Colby story.  
> I hope you guys enjoy it and feel free to leave comments helping me to improve or telling me which part was your favourite. 
> 
> This doesn’t follow any of their videos order.
> 
> Be warned, there is swearing and cursing used in this story.

* * *

 By the time Brennen and Colby had entered the garage, Elton had set everything up. The camera was switched on, not recording, the lights were bright and angled towards the couch and stools that were already set up in front of the camera. Elton’s laptop sat on a side table that he had dragged over, in front of the couch, with the video ready to hit play. Colby took in the entire scene before nodding towards Jay who had claimed one of the stools.

“Hey dude.” 

Jay smiled at Colby.

“How’re you, Colby? Elton said that you’re still a bit sick.” Colby’s eyes met Elton’s who was still fiddling with the camera. He could see the apology in his roommate’s eyes but Colby gave him a small smile, letting him know that it was okay to tell their friends. Colby turned his attention back to Jay and nodded slightly, swallowing. 

“Yeah but nothing I can’t handle. Probably just a bug, anyway.” Jay nodded in response and fell silent as Elton ushered Brennen and Colby to sit down on the couch. The latter following the former like a lost puppy. 

“Is everyone good to start?” Elton asked, although they had all filmed with Elton long enough to know that he wasn’t actually asking them but rather letting them know that he was hitting the record button. As Elton made his way to the last remaining spot on the couch, Colby took a deep breath, calming himself down.  

* * *

“Hello everyone!” Elton greeted and Colby mustered up the the energy to flash a smile towards the camera. “For those who do not know, we went to Japan, to Suicide Forest and stayed the night.” It seemed that just as Colby had convinced himself he could do this, the words Suicide Forest reminded him of every single nightmare and every harsh breath. Of the day he spent completely out of it and having to let Sam take care of him. Of everything he wished he could forget. Shivers ran up and down his spine, the cold threatening to grip his heart as he realised that there was no way he could do this, but he had to pretend. For their fans. 

“Just call it a movie.” Brennen’s voice snapped Colby out of his trance and he briefly wondered if his spacing out was obvious to the camera, would be obvious to the fans and if it was, hopefully it was only for a couple of seconds. 

“It’s a short film.” Elton decided, chuckling as he does. “Anyway, we spent the night there and a lot of, just, I would say _crazy_ stuff happened. But it’s not because it was all _expected_. _All_ of it was expected, right?” Colby heard the muffled agreements from Jay and Brennen before a small nudge, prompted him to agree as well. 

He didn’t want to drag attention to the fact that even his own words were muffled to his ears. 

“A million people have now seen this video and a lot of people have found things in this video that we didn’t notice when we were there. Brennen hasn’t even seen-“ 

“I haven’t seen the whole video. To be honest I saw about three minutes of it. Short attention span, sorry, it’s why I used to do vine.” The youngest roommate found a moment of reprieve in Brennen’s comedy, allowing himself to focus on the joke within Brennen’s confession. The only thing that didn’t sound like he was hearing it from a different room. 

So, he sat there, only half listening as Elton continued to explain to the camera, for the fans. “I had to keep pulling people in because there’s a lot of weird audio things that we obviously didn’t know until watching it back. We’re just gonna go over some of those key things that happened throughout the night, so you can still go and watch the full video.” 

“I’m kinda scared and I don’t know why.” Brennen admitted, laughing, albeit nervously. 

“Probably because it was the scariest night of our lives-“ Jay chimed in.

“And we’re about to relive it.” 

Those words sent chills down Colby’s spine, finally clicking that he didn’t what to be here. He wanted to run out that garage door, hop in his car and drive far away from the house. He didn’t want to relive it, he didn’t really want anything to do with that memory. He didn’t even want to remember. His eyes fell to his fingers which had began fiddling and playing with his bracelet, trying to tune everything out and focus solely on his breathing. He was not going to have a panic attack on camera, regardless that he knew Elton would edit it out. He wasn’t going to have another panic attack without the one person who could easily calm him down. That was not going to happen. 

* * *

The first part of the video that Colby actually watched was when they first found the bones. By the time Colby realised what part of the night they were up to, Elton had paused the video. 

“I really thought it was a child.” Elton confessed and before he could think about it, Colby was answering Elton. 

“Me too. I seriously thought it was a skull.” 

“And you were closer, so...” 

There was a couple of seconds of silence before Colby found himself sprouting knowledge that he didn’t even realise he knew. 

“I don’t know if you guys know about it but I saw a couple of comments talking about it as well. They were saying that there aren’t any predators in the forest, therefore there wouldn’t be any prey.” Surprise was evident on everyone’s face. 

“So then what were those bones? Cause they definitely looked like deer bones.” Brennen asked, turning slightly to look Colby in the eyes, silently asking him if he was okay. Colby nodded before continuing. 

“There are these things called skinwalkers. They’re scary beings that can morph into animals. Normally they are a warning of, like, paranormal things.” 

“That’s-“ Elton was cut off from responding by a loud ding, resounding throughout the garage. Colby found himself laughing, half heartedly, as all of the guys realised that it was Elton’s computer. 

“Send it just got a sale.” Elton explained, chuckling as he got up to mute the computer, so it couldn’t ruin the creepy vibes. It took him two seconds, but Colby felt like he could breathe easier, as the shared laughter eased the tension that was becoming quite thick. 

But thanks to the interruption, everyone forgot about Colby’s secret knowledge and didn’t ask him how he knew at all. But they quickly continued watching the video, causing Colby to resort back to playing with his bracelet and rings. His eyes were glued to his hand, rather then the screen. Once again, the voices became muffled and as they were talking about the noose that they had seen, Colby struggled to forget the vision of the rope in his car. 

* * *

The next few minutes passed by in a blur. The others discussed a few more parts before a single, mundane word caught Colby’s complete attention. 

“This was the part where we see the tent for the first time, in the distance. But,” Elton looked at Colby. “Colby, you were more concerned with the bug on the tree rather than the tent.” He cringed at the same word, trying to play it off as a shrug. He swallowed as he flashed a fake smile back at Elton. 

“In my defence, it was a really big bug.” Colby managed to force out, making the others chuckle. 

They watched the next few minutes of footage, the growl reverberating within Colby’s mind, as they recalled the mad dash that night which almost got them lost. Elton had said something about how they should never do that again before he hit play again. 

When Elton paused the footage for the fiftieth time, Colby wasn’t surprised that they were once again discussing the tent. He knew that the tent was a huge finding that was going to keep coming up, but he hated the choked breathing he had every time it was mentioned. 

He dragged his eyes towards the screen and watched as the guys and him discussed the plan for the rest of the night, ultimately deciding to return to the tent when the sun had risen. Brennen, Jay and Elton chuckled at Colby’s sigh when they had made that decision and Colby knew that this was the time he had to act. If he didn’t say anything now, then the fans would know that something was off about Colby and that was the last thing he needed. 

“That was sad Colby right there.” He breathed, forcing out a few laughs. 

“You were just like-“ Elton cut himself off, losing his voice in his laughter. 

“Definitely sad Colby.” Jay added, patting Colby on the shoulder. 

“Colby’s just like,” Brennen re-enacted the sigh before continuing. “I’ll do what I have to do. But seriously, guys. Something didn’t want us to see what we were gonna see.” 

In that moment, Colby had never agreed with something more than he agreed with Brennen. He believed that wholeheartedly. He just wished that they had listened to that something and didn’t see what they had seen. 

Elton pressed play again, causing Colby to lose focus on the screen. He heard the beginning of the same clip that Elton had showed him a few days ago. Once he figured that out, his mind retreated slightly, only hearing Brennen’s and Jay’s words. He desperately did not want to hear that voice again. 

“Dude. I got chills. Play it again, that’s freaky.” Brennen urged Elton who quickly obliged. Colby fought the desire to cover his ears. 

“I’m uncomfortable after listening to that.” Jay added once Elton had paused the video again. 

“Isn’t that scary that we didn’t hear that when we were there?” 

* * *

There seemed to be a longer pause than usual which made Colby perk up again, curious as to why they hadn’t gone on with the reaction. Elton had turned to face them, eyeing Colby in particular.

“I won’t put this part in, but there’s something else here, something we didn’t see. If any of you guys want to leave now, you can absolutely do so.” Colby almost smiled at the caring and understanding tone that Elton had laced through his words. Although, as much as Colby wanted to leave, to escape the memory; he had to stay. After that lead, he would drive himself insane not knowing. Although, knowledge can be a double edged sword. 

If only Colby knew how much the next few minutes would completely change his world. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welp. Let me just apologise in advance, Colby.  
> And some of the dialogue is from the video, some is not - just to let you know. 
> 
> Next chapter will be posted on July 30th (my b’day is in three days!)
> 
> I post a chapter every Tuesday, AEST (normally between 6pm and 11pm)
> 
> I hope you enjoyed!!  
> Please leave a comment letting me know if you did!
> 
> Don’t forget to follow my Twitter for further updates about when I post  
> @KittieInfinite  
> https://www.twitter.com/KittieInfinite


	14. Thirteen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi!!!
> 
> So first things first, sorry about not getting this up on Tuesday. Stuff has happened and my mind has been all over the place recently and I couldn’t give you guys a chapter that didn’t match up to my standards. 
> 
> But it’s here now!
> 
> Thank you all for reading this. You guys inspire me on the daily to keep writing and for that I owe you all the entire world. Seriously. 
> 
> But unfortunately I can’t give each and everyone of you the world, or any of you at all, hopefully this thank you is enough for now. 
> 
> So thank you for reading, commenting and leaving kudos. It’s always appreciated. 
> 
> ____________________
> 
> This is my first Sam and Colby story.  
> I hope you guys enjoy it and feel free to leave comments helping me to improve or telling me which part was your favourite.
> 
> This doesn’t follow any of their videos order.
> 
> Be warned, there is swearing and cursing used in this story.

* * *

 “We had no idea this was here. We had no idea until the video came out and we received email after email after message after comment. We were, like, okay let’s go look at it. I had some people digitally enhance the frame and it was confirmed.” Elton paused and Colby caught his eyes once again. His roommate was worried about him and about telling him. Colby nodded lightly, letting Elton know that he was alright. 

“We were going to the tent and we decided that we didn’t wanna walk any further and if everyone just takes whatever light we have and we kinda just like scan it; we’ll see everything we need to see and if we don’t see anything, then we leave and that’s it, we're done.” 

Colby felt himself getting antsy, as the way Elton was leading into this suggested that what they were gonna see would be big. Everything that Colby had done, the progress he had made over the last few days, to help himself heal from the Forest was going to come undone. Elton kept on going, no one predicting the pain and torment that the video was going to inflict on the youngest friend. 

“The camera can see better than we can and we’re all focused on the dead centre of the frame. It just happens to be as we’re scanning left, in the bottom left corner, like as far over as we go, there’s...” Elton trailed off as he adjusts the video and places his finger above the play button. “Just. Pay attention to this area.” He point at the left side of frame as the video began. 

The footage seemed to slow down as Colby watched as the light scanned from the right side of the frame all the way to the left. The entire time, he felt his stomach dropping in anticipation of what exactly he was going to see. 

“Fuck.” Brennen obviously say it before Colby did, but as his mind registered what it was, Colby thought he was going to throw up right there and then. 

“Can you freeze it on that?” Brennen asked and Colby longed to be out of the room. 

Elton paused the footage and dragged it back to that frame. “So right there, is a head and two arms and, I mean it’s long black hair-“

“Shit.” Brennen cursed again, clearly unable to articulate any other words. Colby wanted to say something, anything that could, would...

“Could be a guy but right there is a girl slouched over. What’s even crazier is when this is shown on screen, we see the other figure in the back.” Colby desperately wanted to scream at Elton to shut up because with every word that left his roommate’s mouth, the more the world threatened to slip away. 

“We were looking so far deep in the forest that we didn’t see the person that was 10 feet from us. We have absolutely no idea that there is a person right there. This entire time, there is literally a rope there.” He pointed to a part of the screen, not that Colby was even looking in that direction anymore. He was having enough trouble keeping himself here in the garage, trying to hold himself together. 

“We were looking way back here-“ 

“You know,” Jay interrupted, speaking up for the first time since they saw the girl. “I didn’t say it but back in that forest, my biggest fear was shining a light and seeing a body hanging there. Just the light shining on it and your eyes taking a moment to adjust before you realise what it is. That was hands down my biggest fear that night.” Jay confessed, his words melding in with the white noise that was robbing Colby of his hearing. His fingers fiddling with his bracelet. 

“We had no idea.”

“It was so close to us.” Brennen breathed. _Or was it Jay?_

“I posted that and I didn’t know it was there. I’m sorry, I apologise for showing that. I wanted to blur it out but I never saw that and now I can’t. Well you guys have now see what we saw-“ _Was he still in the same room? Had he moved?_

“They saw more than what we saw.” There was just words, words that he was hearing but not listening to. 

“I regret every moment that has lead me to this point.” 

“When Elton texted me and asked if I wanted to come to Japan. I should’ve said no.” 

“But you know, it is what it is and for those people who are contemplating suicide, talk to someone. Reach out, cause there’s always someone who can help, someone willing to listen.” 

The fans needed him to react, they needed to know, or at _least_ think, that he was okay. He needed to say something, anything. _Just say something!_ Words began pouring out of his mouth, he didn’t question how as he couldn’t think. _Can’t get that image out._

“Rest in peace to the people that we saw in the forest or didn’t see until now. It’s sad.” _Out. Need to get out. NOW._

* * *

“That’s the video guys, bye.” Elton reached forward to hit the stop button on the camera. As he turned back to talk to the guys more, he caught sight of the garage door swinging closed. Jay and Brennen were both startled and shocked as they were suddenly left as a trio. Brennen stood, clearly unable to think about doing anything else, and began moving towards the door to follow Colby. Elton grabbed his arm, stopping him in his tracks. 

“Elton. He needs someone.” Elton sighed but shook his head. He agreed with Brennen to a point. Colby didn’t need someone. He needed Sam. 

He fished his phone out of his pocket, quickly typing up a text. 

 

Uncle Elton: u @ home?

5:48

Sam: just pulled into driveway. Y?

5:49

Uncle Elton: Colby

5:49

 

He knew he didn’t need to text anything more than that. Elton turned back to Brennen who was still held captive by his hand. He withdrew his grip on his friend. 

“Sam’s home. He’s got Colby.” Brennen breathed a sigh of relief, relief that was shared by everyone in the room. It was unspoken but they were all relieved that someone was looking after Colby but also relieved because they needed to figure out how they were all feeling too. 

* * *

 Colby didn’t hear Elton finish the recording, but he did hear the door closing behind him. It melted into the white noise that trapped him in an inescapable hold. He needed-he just needed out. He needed to get out. _Away_

_Dead, dead body, tent, Suicide, 10 feet._

His lungs burned as they struggled to pull in oxygen as his body reverted to autopilot, his mind completely out of it. 

_Breathe. He needed to breathe. No he can’t. He can’t breathe. Why can’t he breathe?_

He felt his body hit the stairs but it was like it was something he remembered doing, because he was too numb to feel any pain. 

_Help. He needed help. Someone someone to help him. Who- Sam. He needed Sam._

_SAM._

The door crashed open and he registered the walls getting taller, _or was he getting shorter?_ The floor was suddenly pressed against his knees. 

_D-dead corpse 10 feet breathe tent can’t breathe need Sam  
_

_Sam_

_SAM._

The ice cold tiles burned trough his jeans, _wait, tiles?_ Curling over himself, his wet cheeks resting on his hands. _Why was his cheeks wet?_ He couldn’t think straight, couldn’t see his own hands; only the dirt of the forest. He clenched his eyes shut, allowing whimpers to escape his lips. There was a dead girl right in front of him. Right there so close that he could reach out and touch- 

Her eyes were empty, dead, staring at him. She was begging him to _help her, save her join her-_

Hands touched his shoulders, causing him to shriek in surprise. He was pulled into an embrace, a chest that was firm but small enough that he could wrap his arms around, for stability. The scent made it easier to breathe, easier to remain here, _in the bathroom?_ Sam. It was Sam. 

* * *

Sam had just pulled back into the driveway, after dropping Kat home after their lunch date, when his phone buzzed. He glanced at it quickly, smiling when he saw that it was Elton. What great timing. He parked his car and turned off the engine before typing out a reply to Elton. He had hopped out of the car and had his hand on the front door by the time Elton had responded. 

When Sam read the reply, his heart dropped and his feet were immediately moving. He pulled the door opened, contemplating briefly if he should ask where Colby was, but thought against it as he found himself running up the stairs, everything but his best friend slipping out of his mind. It was like he slipped into autopilot, following the string that tied him to Colby, the lifeline the boys had created when they first met all those years ago. 

He hesitated at the corner of the hallway, opposite the bathroom, listening for Colby. Soft whimpers came from the slightly ajar bathroom door. Sam wasted no time and pushed open the door, falling to his knees when he saw Colby curled up on the bathroom floor. 

His hands immediately found his best friend’s, his brother’s, shoulders and pulled him into his chest. “I’ve got you, Colbs. I’ve got you.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Things have to get worse before they get better, unfortunately.  
> And some of the dialogue is from the video, some is not - just to let you know.
> 
> Next chapter will be posted on August 6th. 
> 
> I post a chapter every Tuesday, AEST (normally between 6pm and 11pm)
> 
> I hope you enjoyed!!  
> Please leave a comment letting me know if you did!
> 
> Don’t forget to follow my Twitter for further updates about when I post  
> @KittieInfinite  
> https://www.twitter.com/KittieInfinite


	15. Fourteen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello!
> 
> Thank you for making my day every single day. Every single read, every single kudos and every single comment always bring a smile to my face. 
> 
> It means everything to me that you guys are enjoying what I’m writing. It’s honestly my dream coming true. So 
> 
> Thank you.  
> ____________________
> 
> This is my first Sam and Colby story.  
> I hope you guys enjoy it and feel free to leave comments helping me to improve or telling me which part was your favourite.
> 
> This doesn’t follow any of their videos order.
> 
> Be warned, there is swearing and cursing used in this story.

* * *

 The two of them stayed there, one in the other’s arms, for a long time, their joints locking up. Sam had no idea what the time was, but he couldn’t say that it really bothered him if the idea to check hadn’t really occurred to him. He just sat there on the freezing, cold tiles, with his back leaning against the vanity cabinet, holding Colby, his other half, as he sobbed. 

Sam continuously rubbed his back, _up and down and up_ , whispering comforting words every now and then, reassuring Colby that he was safe and that he was here with Sam. Trying to help Colby keep his grip on reality. Sam was almost shocked when he felt small tears leaking down his own cheeks as he let his head rest against Colby’s. It broke the blonde’s heart to see someone who was always so strong, so completely destroyed. To see the person who was always his light in the dark, need one himself. 

Sam had been so absorbed in his thoughts and comforting Colby, that he almost missed the light knock on the bathroom door. Although the knock was small, it managed to push the already open door a little more. Corey stood in the doorway, eyes drawing away from Colby and meeting Sam’s gaze. _It must be quite a sight._ Sam thought as he took in the shock creeping forward on his roommate’s face. 

Corey’s mouth opened but closed again, no sound escaping. Sam’s eyes darted back to look straight at Corey, reading the emotions on his face. The silent question was evident, painted all over his features. _Are you two okay?_

Sam broke their shared gaze as he glanced down at his best friend wrapped in his arms, suddenly feeling like he was hugging a small child. It was hard to place a time when Colby and ever been this vulnerable or rather, _let_ himself be so vulnerable. Even when he was sick, straight after Japan, he didn’t seem quite as young as he seems now. 

Suddenly remembering he had yet to answer his other friend, Sam nodded as he met Corey’s eyes once again. Something caught Sam’s eye, something across the bathroom. 

“Could you get some water and Tylenol please, Corey?” Sam whispered, not wanting to disturb Colby. He glanced back across the bathroom, before adding “there’s some more downstairs in the medicine cabinet.” 

The second silent question had appeared in Corey’s eyes but disappeared as he followed Sam’s gaze across the bathroom. Sam knew that Corey had spied the empty Tylenol packet in the bin in the corner of the bathroom, the answer to his silent question. 

“Be back soon.” Corey replied softly before quickly disappearing from sight. Sam almost felt bad asking Corey for something so _trivial_ as water and medicine when he could easily get it himself, but he knew that Corey needed to do something to help, even if it was something so trivial. 

* * *

 Corey breathed a sigh of relief as he headed to the stairs. 

He and Devyn had been curled up in their room, watching a movie on his laptop, when they had head Colby dashing passed, whimpers escaping his lips, and Sam running after him. Neither of them dared to move from their room, unsure of what they might walk into. It wasn’t that they didn’t want to help Colby, but after hearing about Colby’s panic attack in Japan, where only Sam calmed him down, they believed that they would only get in the way. So Corey and Devyn had waited in their room, ready to help if needs be but letting Sam do what he needed to do for Colby. 

When the sobbing faded and all they could hear, if they strained their ears, was Sam’s soft murmurs, Corey decided he had to make sure his friends were okay. Devyn had hopped up too, but ultimately decided that if she were Colby, she wouldn’t want all of her friends to see her when she was so vulnerable. Devyn had pecked Corey on the cheek and told him to remind the boys that they were all here for them. 

It had shocked Corey, more so than it should have, when he had reached the bathroom door. Sam and Colby were huddled together on the cold, hard tiles, the latter clearly not really seeing or hearing what was going on around him. It wasn’t a secret that Colby had been struggling since he returned from Japan, the whole experience taking a bigger toll on him than the others. But seeing and hearing about it were two completely different experiences. 

Colby had always been the roommate who had a smile on his face, the one who was always ready to party or have a good time, the one who would always cheer you up. But the little blue eyed, brunette haired boy being held by Sam, was not the same Colby. Physically he still looked like Colby but even his eyes were different. This one was clearly utterly shattered, whether it was because of the things he had seen or because he hadn’t let himself deal with it properly, it no longer mattered. It made no difference. Now, he needed support and he needed all of the roommates to be that support. 

When Sam had acknowledged him in the bathroom, Corey hadn’t been able to make his voice work, his mouth opened but no sound would come out. He felt the frustration rise but Sam seemed to be able to read his mind and nodded his head. When Sam’s eyes left him for the second time, Corey had felt awkward, unsure of what he should do now. But then, his friend had turned back to him and asked him for a favour. 

Corey was thankful that Sam had asked him to do something, anything to help, to show that he was there for his friends. He accepted the favour without hesitation and dashed towards the stairs. 

* * *

Once Corey reached the bottom of the staircase, he jogged into the kitchen, opening one of the cabinets to find a glass. He grabbed it and turned around to reach the sink, filling the glass with water, without sparing a thought to his surroundings. 

“How is he?” Corey cursed as the cold water spilt onto his hand, as he fumbled not to drop the half full glass. He whirled around, once the glass was stabilised on the kitchen bench, to find Aaron standing behind him. 

“Don’t sneak up on my like that.” He snapped, but immediately felt his face melt as he stared at his other roommate. Aaron ran a hand through his disheveled hair and Corey knew that he must have been going out of his mind, deciding if he should check on Colby or not. 

“Sorry, Aaron.” Aaron gave a small smile in return before resting his hand on Corey’s shoulder. “He-He’s...coping.” Corey breathed, feeling all the energy from him fade. He sagged into Aaron’s grip, grateful that he had someone who could understand the emotions flooding through his veins. 

“He ran out of the garage so quick, I didn’t even see him.” Aaron mentioned, turning to the medicine cabinet and pushed around a few boxes. He pulled out the Tylenol, turning his head enough to see Corey and raised his eyebrow in question. Corey nodded and his friend handed him the packet. 

“Thanks. And Sam’s with him. Sam can help him more than the rest of us can.” The two fell into silence, both suddenly feeling distanced from their youngest roommate. 

All of them were so close, as roommates kind of had to be, with the exception of Elton and Aaron but they were slowly working on it. So when things like this arose, when it was made abundantly clear that not all of the roommates were equally close, it did sting. It hurt but Corey and Aaron would never admit it. Admit that they often felt like this, because how could they tell Sam and Colby how they were feeling, when they couldn’t change it, especially when it was clear that Colby was hurting badly. He would feel ten times worse if he knew that Corey and Aaron were upset. 

The guilt crept up to Corey’s heart, merging with the stinging feeling. It tightened its grip around his heart. A vicious cycle that Corey was only a victim to, one that he could never escape. 

“You should probably-ah.” Aaron gestured to the water and the Tylenol, snapping Corey out of his self-induced pity party. 

“Oh right. Yeah. Thanks again, Aaron.” 

“Anytime.” Corey snatched the water off of the bench and marched upstairs to finish the task that Sam had given him. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Seems like not only Colby’s having problems. 
> 
> Next chapter will be posted on August 13th.
> 
> I post a chapter every Tuesday, AEST (normally between 6pm and 11pm)
> 
> I hope you enjoyed!!  
> Please leave a comment letting me know if you did!
> 
> Don’t forget to follow my Twitter for further updates about when I post  
> @KittieInfinite  
> https://www.twitter.com/KittieInfinite


	16. Fifteen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi!!
> 
> I’m sorry about this being a little late. Started back at uni and I’m still trying to get myself back into a routine. 
> 
> Anyway, this chapter’s a little shorter than usual but I wanted to give you guys something. And I’m not a hundred percent happy with it, so comments would mean everything!  
> I might edit this one over the next few days 😳
> 
> And, huge thank you to everyone reading this. This story now has exactly 100 kudos and 1321 hits. I don’t normally make a big deal about the numbers over here, but I wanted to just say a huge thankful for all of you. 
> 
> Because it’s amazing to see the emails that tell me that this person or this guest has left kudos, but seeing it as a total number, woah. It seems to make it more official, that there are so many of you enjoying and I cannot thank you all enough. 
> 
> Thank you.  
> ____________________
> 
> This is my first Sam and Colby story.  
> I hope you guys enjoy it and feel free to leave comments helping me to improve or telling me which part was your favourite.
> 
> This doesn’t follow any of their videos order.
> 
> Be warned, there is swearing and cursing used in this story.

* * *

 Somehow, it was even more shocking to Corey that neither of them had moved, not even an inch. The only difference was that Sam had stopped whispering now and just let the silence wash over the two of them. Completely in their own world, almost separate from reality. 

“Sam?” Corey murmured, afraid that if he spoke any louder, he would disturb the peace that seemed to have finally settled over Colby. But he didn’t need to because Sam’s head immediately turned to Corey. 

Eyeing the glass of water and medication in Corey’s hand, Sam began moving. He started slowly unwrapping Colby from himself so that he could reach the items from Corey. 

“Maybe we should move him from the bathroom-?” Corey suggested before Sam had fully moved Colby off of his lap. The blonde halted his movements, pausing for two seconds to consider the smart suggestion that hadn’t even occurred to him. 

“Oh yeah. Of course.” He stuttered, obviously embarrassed that he hadn’t thought about that first. He shifted Colby upwards slightly, sitting him on his own while Sam manoeuvred around his friend. “Colbs?” He asked gently, leaning down so only Colby could hear him. “I’m gonna pick you up and take you to your room, okay?” Sam murmured in Colby’s ear. A small nod was all he received in response. 

With the okay from Colby, Sam rolled onto his feet and wrapped his arms around Colby once more. As Sam began to stand up, Colby must have felt the movement and wrapped his legs around Sam’s waist and his arms around Sam’s neck, clinging to his best friend like a baby koala would to its mother. 

Corey quickly stepped out of the way as Sam carried Colby into his room. “You can just leave that on his desk. Thanks Corey.” He nodded as he did as he was told. He quickly glanced up at his friends, wanting to ask if they needed anything else but ultimately decided that he didn’t want to intrude on their moment, so he quickly slipped back out of the room. 

He pushed the door to his and Devyn’s bedroom open and quietly closed it. He felt his should fall forward as his eyes fell to the floor. Corey had done what he could, but he still felt like he should’ve done more. _He should’ve offered, he should’ve... should’ve done something._

His girlfriend glanced up from her phone and immediately opened her arms, offering exactly what Corey needed at that moment. Once she embraced him, she whispered into his ear. “They’re gonna be okay. We all are.” Devyn trailed her hands up his back and let her hands rest behind his head, at the nape of his neck. “We’re all here for each other and that’s going to get Colby through this.” 

“I want to believe you, baby. But I feel like I-“

“Corey. You did what you could. Sam can take care of Colby now. I mean they’ve been taking care of each other for years now. They know you’re here, they know we’re all here. If either of them needs us, they’ll ask.” Corey nodded, still feeling a bit useless, but allowing himself to calm down. 

“You’re right, Dev. I love you.” 

“I love you too, Cor.” 

* * *

Sam was barely aware of Corey slipping out, as he placed Colby on his bed.

Flashbacks of nights when Colby had been out with Brennen, drinking even though he was underage and then crashing on the first piece of furniture he saw, which was the couch. Sam used to carry him back to Colby’s room, knowing that he was going to be up early in the morning and wouldn’t want to wake his best friend. 

Blonde hair danced in the air as he shook his head, anchoring himself back to reality. They didn’t need both of them trapped somewhere in between. Realising that he was just awkwardly hovering over his best friend, Sam went to stand back up. But as he did, Colby’s hand immediately latched onto his wrist, stopping him in his tracks. Colby’s eyes remained closed, whether it was because he was tired or because he wasn’t quite back to seeing reality, Sam couldn’t tell.  

“Stay.” Colby whimpered and Sam felt his heart break. His other half sounded so much more vulnerable then when he had spoken to him on the phone. A brief thought flashed through Sam’s mind, _what the hell had the camera picked up?_ But as quick as it came, it was gone again. 

“Colbs-“ Sam began, ready to launch into some complete bullshit reason why he was going to deny his broken best friend, when Colby interrupted him with a single word. 

“Please.” A small, broken word fell from Colby’s lips with fresh tears leaking onto his cheeks. Sam felt his own eyes begin to water again, all thoughts about leaving Colby slipping from his mind, and simply nodded before climbing into Colby’s bed, sitting beside him. 

“Sleep, Colby. You need it.” Sam mumbled, letting Colby curl up beside him. 

* * *

It had taken maybe ten minutes for Colby to fall asleep, but Sam was grateful. It gave him time to process exactly what had just happened. He thought about it and decided that when he was sure Colby had fallen into a deep sleep, he would creep downstairs and confront Elton; make him tell Sam what they had seen on the footage. Elton had to tell him, because there was no way that he was going to make Colby tell him. He couldn’t put his best friend through all of that again. 

But, sitting in the quiet room gave Sam’s mind plenty of space to run. _This is your fault. You’re a terrible friend, you should’ve been there for him. You should’ve stopped this. You never should have let him watch the footage. You never should’ve let him go to Japan, without you._

_You never should’ve let him go._

That had nagged at Sam for the first few days of their trip. This would be one of the longest times they had spent apart and it didn’t sit well with Sam. He was aware that Colby was allowed to do his own things, live his own life; but that wasn’t why Sam was uncomfortable with Colby going without him. It was more of the fact that it was Sam and Colby versus the world. How can he be there for Colby if they’re in two different countries? How could he help Colby fight back against the world if he wasn’t right there beside him? How could Sam protect Colby if they were apart? 

It wasn’t a possessive thing, more like a protective thing, and he was certain that Colby had felt the same. Unease at the fact that he was leaving Sam for so long, considering they had spent years leaving together, with only the two of them. 

And now, as much as he wanted to believe Kat, he just couldn’t help but feel distanced from Colby. Separated by his lack of experience and knowledge about what Colby was going through.

_You should’ve been there._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Uh oh, you can’t break down too, Sam!
> 
> Next chapter will be posted on August 20th.
> 
> I post a chapter every Tuesday, AEST (normally between 6pm and 11pm)
> 
> I hope you enjoyed!!  
> Please leave a comment letting me know if you did!
> 
> Don’t forget to follow my Twitter for further updates about when I post  
> @KittieInfinite  
> https://www.twitter.com/KittieInfinite


	17. Sixteen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hellooo everyone!!
> 
> I just wanted to give a special thank you for last chapter. I wasn’t that happy with it but after all of the kind responses, I decided to leave it for now. You guys are seriously the best. 
> 
> And of course, thank you to everyone who reads this story, has left kudos and writes comments. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate all of it!!
> 
> ____________________
> 
> This is my first Sam and Colby story.  
> I hope you guys enjoy it and feel free to leave comments helping me to improve or telling me which part was your favourite.
> 
> This doesn’t follow any of their videos order.
> 
> Be warned, there is swearing and cursing used in this story.

* * *

 Sam sighed as he found his fingers playing with Colby’s hair. The soft, rhythmic pattern began to lull Sam to sleep before he realised. His eyes drifting closed and his fingers slowing their fiddling. Sam felt his forehead slip and rest against Colby’s and he heard Colby hum in contentment as everything else faded away. 

* * *

_The mud coated his finger tips as he continued to dig. What he was digging for, wasn’t in the forefront of his mind. It was a thought that no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t quite grasp onto. He gave up trying and just allowed his body to shift to autopilot, digging a hole in the middle of nowhere._

_Tree roots started popping up, slowing the hole’s progress. He had to break them, tug on every single one until it broke in his hands. Nothing could stop him from digging this hole, that much he was aware of._

_Time didn’t seem to pass, it was like he was frozen in a single moment. It never got easier to see, he was always digging around in the dark. There was two mounds of mud, one on either side of him. He tried not to linger on the thought that the hole was only big enough for one mound of mud to exist._

_Six and a half feet long, three feet deep. Perfect size for- for... whatever was supposed to be going in there. It wouldn’t be the first either, there were plenty of holes around him, dug for the same reason his was._

_He dusted his hands off, only small pieces of mud flying off, as he caught sight of a rope tied around one end of the mound to his right. His brows furrowed in confusion, what purpose does a rope have-_

_Eyes started defining the outline of mound, finding a circular shape where the rope was tied, leading down the..._ body _. It was a body_ not _a mound._

_Suddenly the trees seemed to grow into the sky, stretching until it was impossible and then they continued growing. The hole suddenly made sense, ringing loud clarity in his mind._

_Wet droplets hit his shoe as the world shifted, swirling around as his fingers traced up his chest and followed the wet trail. Ouch. Something was on his neck, something was..._ digging _into his neck. He was bleeding, he was_ dying _._

_He felt his body gasping, trying to clutch onto whatever oxygen was slipping into his lungs, hands working against him by tightening their grip around his throat. Which was more important? Breathing or stopping the bleeding? Which would give him enough time to find help?_

_Between all of the gagging, coughing and spluttering, one name rang out, in the silence of the forest. One three letter word. One that meant so much more than help. The only thing that he could even think to spit out._

_A sharp pain hit him in the head as his body was jostled, a vague sensation of hearing his name overcame him as he realised. His bones froze as his blood seeped into the dry dirt beneath him. The hole wasn’t for the body next to him. It was for hi-_

“COLBY!” 

* * *

His body lurched forward, feeling something holding him back. He struggled as his hands reached for his neck, desperate to stop the bleeding. Desperate to stay alive. The same word falling from his lips, in a string of pleas. Hands tightening around his neck, more tightening around his own hands. There were words thrown back at him but he couldn’t hear, couldn’t see. He was trying to breathe, trying to-

“Hey hey hey. Colby, breathe. Breathe, brother. Listen to me, match yours with mine. Come on, you can do this.” He felt a chest rising and falling against his own. It caught his attention, dragging his thoughts away from everything before, causing him to get lost in the task of matching his breathing. 

“In and out. Just like that. In and out. You’re okay, Colbs. In and out in and out.” Hands loosened their grip, allowing his own hands to fall into his lap, no longer needed. He could breathe. He was alive. 

Slowly, the warmth of the body holding him and the blankets which cocooned his body began to register in his head. The comforting sounds of the nocturnal creatures and the odd cars driving passed. The stray light peeking underneath the door, allowing his eyes to adjust. He blinked, a number of times, squinting at his surroundings as he eventually came to terms with where he was. In his room with... 

“ _Sam_.” He breathed out, relief instantly flooding his body as he let tears fall, letting his body crash into his best friend. 

“It’s okay, Colby. I’m here, you’re here. We’re both safe.” Sam murmured in his ear as he felt Sam wrap his arms around Colby. He couldn’t say anything aside from Sam’s name, but he didn’t need to. 

“We’re gonna be okay, Colbs. I promise you, brother.” 

* * *

Sam had been lost in the land of the dreams when he heard his name. The voice melded in with his own dream. He didn’t think too much about it until he heard it again. But this time, it sounded like a whimper, a cry for help and that was almost like a slap across the face. His eyes snapped open, jarring him for a second when he didn’t recognise the walls of his bedroom. Another whimper came from beside him and the mop of brunette hair was all it took to remember that he had stayed in Colby’s room. 

“Sam!” Sam’s eyes darted to Colby as he took in what his best friend looked like. Sweat dripping from his forehead, the blankets wrapped so tightly around him and his eyes screwed shut. _Nightmare_. His brain helpfully supplied and Sam sprung into action. 

“Colby. Hey, Colby! Wake up, bro.” Sam called to him, getting louder the longer Colby remained asleep. When Colby began thrashing, Sam leapt up, hands immediately on Colby’s shoulders, shaking him. Colby threw his head back, smashing the headboard before Sam was able to stop him. 

“COLBY!” Sam screamed, shaking him even more, desperate to wake him up before he actually hurt himself. It seemed to do the trick though as Colby’s body lurched forward, eyes widening instantly. His hands reached for his neck, tightening around them as Sam let one of his hands move to Colby’s. He tried to grab Colby’s hands, stop him from choking himself, while trying to   bring him back to reality. He would never admit it, but the glassy stare sent chills down Sam’s spine. It was terrifying to think that Colby wasn’t seeing what was right in front of him. 

“Colby! Colby, you’re awake, man. It’s okay, it’s Sam. Colby I’m here. Hey hey hey. Colby, breathe. Breathe, brother. Listen to me, match yours with mine. Come on, you can do this.” Sam used his hand that was holding Colby’s shoulder and leaned him into his chest, praying that Colby would calm down.

“In and out. Just like that. In and out. You’re okay, Colbs. In and out in and out.” Sam felt Colby’s hands losing their grip and in turn moved his hand away from Colby’s neck, allowing his hands to fall. Sam let out a sigh of relief as he sensed Colby coming back. 

“Sam.” His name fell from Colby’s lips, utterly broken. Sam’s heart clenched in response. The younger boy let himself crash into Sam who immediately trailed his hands around Colby. He rubbed his back as he leaned down to whisper.

“It’s okay, Colby. I’m here, you’re here. We’re both safe.” He could feel Colby’s mouth moving against his chest but knew that it was his name. His name which was Colby’s plea, which wasn’t a surprise to Sam because he knew it was the same vice versa. 

“We’re gonna be okay, Colbs. I promise you brother.”

_I’m gonna find someway to help you through this. I’m gonna protect you from now on. I’m gonna get you through this._

Sometimes it was better to leave some things unsaid, but rather, implied. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Nightmares have returned. Dun dun dunnnnn :)
> 
> Next chapter will be posted on August 27th.
> 
> I post a chapter every Tuesday, AEST (normally between 6pm and 11pm)
> 
> I hope you enjoyed!!  
> Please leave a comment letting me know if you did!
> 
> Don’t forget to follow my Twitter for further updates about when I post  
> @KittieInfinite  
> https://www.twitter.com/KittieInfinite


	18. Seventeen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi!!!
> 
> Just want to send virtual hugs out to everyone as a huge thank you for reading, commenting and leaving kudos. You guys are the main reason why I’m still updating the story. I definitely wouldn’t have the drive and motivation without you all. So thank you so much. 
> 
> ____________________
> 
> This is my first Sam and Colby story.  
> I hope you guys enjoy it and feel free to leave comments helping me to improve or telling me which part was your favourite.
> 
> This doesn’t follow any of their videos order.
> 
> Be warned, there is swearing and cursing used in this story.

* * *

 Elton stood frozen at the door. It was unusual for him spend so much time contemplating his next move but the air was different here, he needed to be cautious. Jay and Brennen had left, the latter begrudgingly so after he had made Elton swear, black and blue, that he would do his ‘uncle’ duties. He was on his way when he had passed Aaron on his way up who spoke softly. 

“Corey said that Sam’s handling it at the minute. It’s been quiet upstairs so, I think they’re okay.” 

Elton had nodded but continued on his way up the stairs. However, he couldn’t convince his feet walk down the hallway towards Colby’s room. You texted Sam and now he’s handling it. Isn’t that what you wanted? 

So instead, he had moved towards his own bedroom, opting to cuddle with Circa for now. He had promised himself, while his nose was buried in Circa fur, that he would check up on them in a few hours. 

So, a few hours later found Elton here. His hand was hovering above the door handle, ears straining to hear any sound whatsoever. He thought he had heard some noise earlier but now it was silent behind the door and Elton wasn’t quite sure what he would find. It was unnerving just how much he was out of his element in this situation. Torn between wanting to comfort Colby, trying to deal with what they saw and the guilt of putting Colby in this situation. 

No matter how anyone painted the picture, all of this - was Elton’s fault. Elton had pushed Colby to come to Japan. Elton had made Colby come along to Suicide Forest. Elton had forced Colby to stay throughout the night; putting them into this situation. It was Elton’s fault and no matter what happened, Elton would always feel responsible for the pain and suffering he had inflicted on his youngest roommate. 

Eventually, the cool, metal touched his fingers as he exhaled and pushed the door open. The sight that greeted him didn’t surprise him at all. It was a sight that he had seen countless times during all those TFIL trips, even the overnights. Sam and Colby were squished together on one side of the bed, leaving enough room for someone else. Sam was curled around Colby, cradling Colby’s head into his chest. 

Elton smiled as he saw the calm, peaceful expressions on both of their faces. They would be just fine, as long as they had each other. Quietly, Elton backed out of the room, pulling the door shut behind him. He caught side of Devyn who had peeped around the corner. 

“Sleeping.” He mouthed as he crept away from the door. She nodded before disappearing back into her’s and Corey’s bedroom. 

As Elton returned to his own room, the clock blinked at him. 

_1:49 am_

He could let the boys sleep, god knows they need it. Tomorrow was another day, well eight o’clock was another day. He could leave them until then. Elton hopped back into bed, petting Circa’s head when she peered at him. He would fix everything for his roommates tomorrow. 

* * *

Sam woke first, muffled yelling and banging drilling straight into his head. He glanced down at Colby and blushed as he realised that they were tangled around each other. Sam shifted slightly but froze as Colby moved, readjusting his head to lay on the pillow instead of Sam’s chest. Colby’s eyes stayed close, to which Sam let out a sigh of relief. He didn’t want to wake Colby yet. He needed all the sleep he could get. 

Another muted bang came from downstairs followed by arguing. Sam heaved himself up and stumbled to the door, fingers running through his messy hair. The closer to the kitchen he got, the louder and clearer the yelling got. It was Elton and Corey. Sam’s curiosity made him pause on the landing, knowing that there was a high probability that they would stop arguing when they saw him. 

 

“THIS IS YOUR FAULT, ELTON!” 

“YOU DON’T THINK THAT I KNOW THAT?!” 

“WELL YOU HAVEN’T EXACTLY BEEN ACTING LIKE IT!” 

“I’VE HAD OTHER FUCKING STUFF TO DO, COREY! NOT ALL OF US CAN JUST FUCKING QUIT YOUTUBE WHENEVER WE FEEL LIKE IT!” 

“OF COURSE YOU BLOODY WELL CAN! YOU’RE CHOOSING NOT TO, JUST LIKE YOU’RE CHOOSING NOT TO CARE ABOUT HIM!” 

“I DO FUCKING CARE ABOUT HIM! I’M GIVING HIM SPACE!” 

“IS THAT WHAT YOU CALL IT?! BECAUSE I CALL IT NEGLECT!” 

Sam jumped as something was slammed on the kitchen bench. 

“YOU DON’T KNOW HOW MUCH HE WANTED TO DITCH YOUR LITTLE REACTION VIDEO! BUT HE’S TOO GOOD OF A FUCKING FRIEND TO LEAVE YOH HANGING LIKE THAT! WHAT THE FUCK WAS ON THAT TAPE ANYWAY?!” 

“I’d like to know that too.” The two in the kitchen jumped a mile at Sam’s voice. 

“Sam-“ 

“I don’t care. If you keep yelling like that you’ll wake Colby and I do care about that.” Elton and Corey both let their heads slip, shame and embarrassment plaguing their eyes. 

Sam walked passed Corey and grabbed a bottle of water out of the fridge before turning to face Elton, who was standing at the sink. 

“What did you guys see on the footage?” Sam glanced between Elton and Corey, immediately seeing that both of them were still tense. But Sam wasn’t in the mood to mediate their fight right now. He just wanted to get the information and then crawl back into bed. 

“There was another one. One we didn’t even see, but the fans did.” Elton breathed, his fingers twisting in his beard. 

“Another one? What do you mean, Elton?” Corey questioned. 

“Another body. One that was barely ten feet away from us, but we didn’t see it. Until now.” Sam sucked in a sharp breath at Elton’s confession. The silence dragged by for what seemed like hours. 

“There was two. One you saw and one you didn’t.” Sam bobbed his head as his mind raced, filling in the gaps with this new information. Suddenly, Colby’s reactions were a hundred percent justified and surprisingly, Sam felt less distanced from it all now. 

He took a huge gulp of water before twisting the lid back on and heading back upstairs. As he stepped up the first stair, he paused but didn’t look back.

“I don’t want you guys fighting. Especially not over something like this. And I’m sure I speak for Colby too.” And with that Sam disappeared back up the stairs. 

* * *

Sam quietly pushed open Colby’s door, only to be greeted by Colby himself. His eyes were red, dried trails leaking down over his cheeks, his hair tousled and tangled, falling into his eyes. 

“Hey dude. I thought you were still sleeping.” 

“Kinda hard to sleep with the fight going on downstairs, even for me.” Colby rubbed the back of his neck as he and Sam fell onto the couch in his bedroom. 

“Sorry, brother. I tried to get them to stop-“

“They were fighting about me, weren’t they?” Sam felt his mouth opening and closing but no noise was coming out. “It feels weird. Like they’re both protective in nature, but I never thought that they would fight because of that. Because of me.” 

“Colby. Whether they are or aren’t fighting, that isn’t your fault. If they have an issue it’s between them. I think they’re using you as an excuse to shout at each other.” Sam meant the last line to be a little more lighthearted, but both of them knew it was true. 

Elton and Corey’s relationship had been getting more strained the last couple of weeks, which was one of the reasons for the Japan trip - to give them both some time. But with Elton getting older and moving away from the young-adult-party life, it was inevitable that they were going to start butting heads. But it was stupid to drag Colby into that, pathetic even. 

“It’s not your fault.” Sam started firmly, tracking the guilt present in his best friend’s eyes. He was desperate to get Colby to believe him because this was the last thing he needed right now. Sam watched as Colby sighed, running his fingers through his hair before standing up. 

“I’m gonna have a shower.” Colby mumbled, as he headed to his closet. Sam continued watching as he dug out a grey t-shirt and black ripped jeans and headed to the bathroom. 

* * *

 The blonde stayed on the couch until he heard the water turn on. He couldn’t deny that he was torn between staying by Colby’s side and going downstairs and chewing Elton and Corey out more than he had already. It wasn’t fair that they were making Colby feel worse, especially because there was no way that there was anyone in the house that didn’t hear their fight. 

Sam pushed himself off the couch and numbly walked into his own bedroom, barely sparing a glance towards his bed that remained neatly made. He pulled out the first clothes he could find in his own closet which were a blue t-shirt and tan jeans. Quickly changing, Sam heard the water turn off and the shower door open. He paused his movements, listening for any sign that Colby needed him but he didn’t hear one. 

The bathroom door opened as Sam exited his room, meaning that he and Colby ended up face to face. His other half turned to head to his room, presumably to grab his phone, but Sam stopped him. 

“Colby, Elton told me about the video.” He watched his the boy in question let his gaze drop to the floor. 

“It doesn’t seem real, you know?” 

“I get that. I really do. But you know no matter what-“

“Yes, brother. I kinda think last night made your point really clear.” The next minute Sam felt arms wrap around his neck as he was brought into a hug. Sam melted into it. Colby’s hugs were literally like bear hugs, so warm and comfortable. When Sam was younger he used to long for the hugs that Colby gives. But now, Sam knew that it was for Colby’s benefit more than his own, and he was perfectly okay with that. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Uh oh!  
> God I wanna feel Colby’s hug, even just once. 
> 
> Next chapter will be posted on September 3rd. 
> 
> I post a chapter every Tuesday, AEST (normally between 6pm and 11pm)
> 
> I hope you enjoyed!!  
> Please leave a comment letting me know if you did!
> 
> Don’t forget to follow my Twitter for further updates about when I post  
> @KittieInfinite  
> https://www.twitter.com/KittieInfinite


	19. Eighteen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello!!
> 
> First things first - I am so sorry about the delay. I only had half a chapter yesterday and it was in no way up to my standard. And now it’s a couple of hours later than it should be because I’m such a perfectionist. Gosh. 
> 
> But it’s here now!! And I hope you guys enjoy!!
> 
> Thank you to everyone who has been here since day one and those who are joining everyday. You guys are amazing - just reading the words I’ve written, that’s all I could ever ask for. Thank you all so so much!!!
> 
> ____________________
> 
> This is my first Sam and Colby story.  
> I hope you guys enjoy it and feel free to leave comments helping me to improve or telling me which part was your favourite.
> 
> This doesn’t follow any of their videos order.
> 
> Be warned, there is swearing and cursing used in this story.

* * *

 A couple of days had passed and the atmosphere and dynamic of the Traphouse had changed. Gone were the days when they would spend hours all hanging out together. Gone were the times when they would talk freely about anything and everything. Gone were the easy going friendships that they had all established. 

Instead, what was left in the absence of all of that was tension. Tension between Elton and Corey, as they could barely stand to be in the same room as the other, always making a half assed excuse as to why they had to leave immediately. 

_“Uh sorry, can’t. Editing.”_

_“Devyn wanted me to meet some of her, Uh, friends. Sorry.”_

_“Circa hasn’t been for her walk yet.”_

_“Can’t Aaron help you guys out?”_

Tension between Colby, Elton and Corey as they would barely spend time actually talking to Colby either, rather watching him from across the room, guilt evident on their face. Tension, even between their other friends. Even though it was only Elton, Corey and Sam who had actually been there at the time of the argument, everyone in their extended friend group knew about it and it’s subsequent impact on Colby. 

No one spoke of the argument in the kitchen, but it seemed to plague all the roommate’s minds, making it impossible to forget it ever happened. Colby hated the sudden distance between him and his friends, especially knowing that he was the reason that two of them weren’t talking. 

But Sam had been helping. 

The two of them had become inseparable, so much so, Sam’s bed hadn’t been touched since the day of the reaction video. None of the roommates questioned them and neither did they - feeling it was better left unsaid. Last night was no exception. Sam had passed out in Colby’s bed, head almost touching Colby’s shoulders. The rest of the roommates had all locked themselves in their respective rooms for the night, all fast asleep - except for one. 

* * *

Colby had laid awake most of the night, fingers absentmindedly playing with Sam’s hair. His eyes had traced the ceiling, just as they had done every single night. He couldn’t sleep, couldn’t keep the nightmares away, and he hated to disturb Sam’s well-earned sleep. 

It was about five in the morning, when Colby had given up on all hope that he would get any sleep. He glanced at Sam, who’s face looked peaceful, there was no trace of worry that had seemed to cement itself onto Sam’s face in the last few days. There was no way he could ever wake Sam when his best friend had already given up so much to be there and help Colby through this mess. This mess that fucked around with his head. 

Instead, Colby reached down the side of his bed, fingers just grasping his phone. Hopefully, the device would starve off the boredom that was threatening to bring back all the thoughts that Colby had been avoiding. He unlocked his phone and opened up Twitter, deciding to check to see what his fans had been up to. 

However, for some reason, he had hundreds of notifications. Some were dms and others were tweets that he had been tagged in. Confusion taking place on his face, he scrolled through the tweets, immediately seeing a common theme. 

They were all about the reaction video that Elton had uploaded yesterday. Which was also the reason Colby had stayed off social media. 

* * *

 “ _Are you sure you’re alright with me uploading it?” Elton had cornered him when he and Sam had been heading out for dinner._

_“Elton, it’s fine.”_

_“But-“_

_“Look, Elton. It’s recorded and we all promised the fans we would film a reaction. We can’t re-film it, so you should upload this one. You can’t let your fans down.” Elton had nodded, before eyeing something over Colby’s shoulder. The oldest roommate quickly retreated into the garage before Colby had turned around, catching the back of Corey as he headed back upstairs to his and Devyn’s room._

_“Maybe you should avoid social media for a bit, then.” Sam had pointed out as he had grabbed his car keys off the rings by the front door._

_“What do you mean?”_

_“Fans are gonna be going nuts over the reaction video. Especially for those who didn’t catch the stuff from the original footage.”_

_“You’re right.” Sam had never brought it up again and Colby had followed his advice._

* * *

But now, Colby was getting assaulted by tweet after tweet about the reaction video. Although most of the tweets weren’t what he was expecting. 

_Does @colbybrock look upset in this video???_

_Hey @colbybrock it’s okay, you always support us so now we can support you. #MakeColbyHappy _

_Poor Colby, @colbybrock, that overnight must have really shaken him up. _

_@colbybrock , are you feeling okay??_

_#MakeColbyHappy - We’re here for you @colbybrock _

_@colbybrock you deserve to be happy, whatever you’re going through, just know that you’ll be okay :) #MakeColbyHappy_

A smile played at the corner of his lips as he scrolled through the tweets. He was a little conflicted though as he had tried really hard when they were filming to not show the camera how he was really feeling. He thought he had succeeded, but obviously not. 

Although, his fans were generally really good at reading him, so he shouldn’t really be surprised. But seeing the tweets and even the hashtag which had over five hundred tweets made him feel better. He honestly had the best fans in the world. 

That compliment had struck up another thought that he had been avoiding. YouTube. He hadn’t posted anything since getting back from Japan. In all honesty, he didn’t even think about it. It wasn’t an issue for the Sam and Colby channel as they were still in front with their filming, but Colby hadn’t posting anything. 

And he had promised to post footage from Suicide Forest. 

Which means he would have to edit the video and promote the video on his socials like every other one. 

Which also meant that his channel would become another reminder of that experience, another part of his life consumed by the trauma that his mind was inflicting upon him. Goddamnit. 

* * *

Colby had laid there for another hour, his phone had slipped from his fingers, landing on the sheets in between him and Sam. He tried closing his eyes but he huffed as he tossed and turned, wanting the one thing that continued to evade him. Giving up, Colby tried to carefully shuffle off the bed, grabbing his phone on the way so it wouldn’t fall. 

He managed to climb out of the bed before Sam rolled over, mumbling. Two blue orbs peered at him from underneath the covers. 

“What time is it?” Sam murmured, moving his arm to push himself up. Colby flashed an apologetic smile. 

“I didn’t mean to wake you.” He whispered. 

“I was already awake. I wanted to see how long it would take you to give up and get up.” By now, Sam had sat up and was sliding over to the side of the bed. Colby rolled his eyes, playfully pushing him back. 

“You should have told meee.” 

“I didn’t want to disturb you.” Colby could see the jab clear as day but he shook it off, instead focusing his attention forward. 

“Breakfast?” 

“Sounds good to me.” The two boys slipped off in opposite directions to get ready for the day. Colby headed for his closest and Sam headed for his room. This had become their usual routine. Colby wakes Sam up, accidentally, and then they both get ready and head out for breakfast. It was their time - no one else was invited. Stepping out of the closet, Colby called out to Sam that he could have the bathroom first this time. He barely heard the response as he surrounded himself with all of his clothes. 

Colby’s eyes strayed to his phone that he had sat on his desk. He still hadn’t checked Instagram. Curiosity got the better of him and he unlocked his phone, heading straight to his dms on Instagram. Most of which were letting him know that he had been mentioned in their stories - which consisted of screenshots of the reaction video, moments in which he had let his facade slip and the fans had latched onto those straight away. 

Colby allowed himself a moment to study these screenshots, having a rare moment to study himself. His eyes were clearly run down, the bright blue smothered by his thoughts. His shoulders had hunched over, curling towards his chest as if able to protect him from something. He didn’t realise how many times he had spun the same ring around during that video, but the fans’ stories showed him the truth. 

Before he could get too far down the rabbit hole, Sam called out letting him know that the bathroom was his. Colby replied before heading there, watching as Sam turned around the corner, heading downstairs to wait. 

He pushed open the door and set his clothes down before closing and locking the bathroom door. A flash of something caught his eye and he turned, eye to eye with himself. The red eyes were evident, answering the question of if he had been sleeping. The tousled brunette strands fell into his eyes, clouding the grey that seemed to swallow the blue. 

Things were far from over. Colby had no idea what his mind in store for him. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh boy, Colby!  
> (Ahh they were on live tv twice now! I’m so proud of them!!)
> 
> Next chapter will be posted on September 10th. 
> 
> I post a chapter every Tuesday, AEST (normally between 6pm and 11pm)
> 
> I hope you enjoyed!!  
> Please leave a comment letting me know if you did!
> 
> Don’t forget to follow my Twitter for further updates about when I post  
> @KittieInfinite  
> https://www.twitter.com/KittieInfinite


	20. Nineteen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Helloooo!
> 
> Okay, so I just want to quickly thank you guys who have been telling me to, essentially, ease up on myself and not worry too much if I post late. Seriously, I’m an over thinker so you guys are honestly amazing for letting me know, I’ll try to not worry so much. 
> 
> And, I want to extend the thank you to everyone who is reading this right now. You are all so incredible. I can’t believe that you all keep coming back, that’s incredible. So thank you for reading. And special thank you to those who leave kudos and write comments. I love reading what you guys have to say. 
> 
> Thanks!!!!
> 
> ____________________
> 
> This is my first Sam and Colby story.  
> I hope you guys enjoy it and feel free to leave comments helping me to improve or telling me which part was your favourite.
> 
> This doesn’t follow any of their videos order.
> 
> Be warned, there is swearing and cursing used in this story.

* * *

Escaping from his thoughts, heading downstairs, Colby noticed that the air in the house was different. He could hear their voices before he saw them, and he still didn’t believe it. Elton and Corey sat across from each other, Sam standing near the fridge, just talking, about everything and nothing. It was like their fight hadn’t even happened. It baffled him as he hesitantly made his way to Sam. 

“Mornin’ Colby.” Elton greeted, munching on an apple as Corey just waved at him as they dove back into their conversation, Sam opting out to focus on his best friend. Colby stopped next to Sam, eyes drifting back to their roommates, a question posed in his eyes. He gestured to Sam, but all he got in response was Sam’s mouth moving, ‘I’ll tell you later’. Colby swallowed, unused to not knowing what was going on, feeling the whole dynamic shift; something wasn’t quite right. He didn’t know what to do, it threw him off balance, making him unsure of how to proceed with his roommates. 

Sam must have sensed it as he spoke in the next heartbeat, startling Colby out of his mind. 

“Colby and I are off to breakfast. See you guys later.” Fingers brushed passed his wrist and guided him out of the kitchen. Just as they were nearing to the door, Elton called out. 

“What are you guys doing tonight?” Sam stopped in his tracks and glanced at Colby.

“We’ve got nothing planned, why?” Elton had met them at the door now. 

“I was thinking we could do an overnight tonight?” 

_Overnight. Like, S- no. Not like that._

_Not again_

_please_

_no_

“Where abouts?” 

“It’s this abandoned water plant just outside of Los Angeles. I’ve been scoping it for a while. Corey’s coming, right?” Corey’s head peeked round the corner, his eyes meeting Colby’s. 

“It isn’t haunted, is it Elton?” 

“When has an overnight not been someplace haunted?” 

_Haunted because someone_

“-died there, supposedly. Nothing’s confirmed. Look we won’t even take a Ouija board, cross my heart and hope-“

_To die. NO. No no no nononono._

_Trees towering over him, dirt burying his shoes, death consuming everything within -_ Eyes searching his, fingers ghosting over his wrist, anchoring him to the present. 

“Actually, I totally forgot about the thing we have to do. Right, Colby?” He had to...say something? Say something. Speak. 

“Oh yeah right. The thing- w-with Kat, right?” 

“Yeah. Sorry Elton. I thought you meant like this evening, not tonight.” 

“That’s alright, Sam. I’m sure I could talk Heath and Scotty into coming with us. Have fun wth Katrina.” 

* * *

_Coins falling and bouncing somewhere in the greenery, lights fading, complaints about batteries, seeing_ \- Keys jingled in his ears, door slamming behind him. Hand on his back, helping him sit. Engine, gate, road. 

“-olbs? Colby, you with me?” Sam’s eyes were watching his, glancing between him and the road. 

“Ye-Yeah. I’m here.” Colby found his own eyes wandering, looking at the window of Sam’s car, the white glinting in the sunlight.  

“You okay?” He could hear the concern dripping from his best friend’s words. 

“Yeah. I’m- I’m not ready for another overnight, brother. I-“

“You don’t have to explain yourself. I get it, bro. You don’t ever have to do something that you don’t feel comfortable doing.” 

“Thanks Sam. I know we don’t say it often, but I’m so glad that we’re best friends. I don’t know where I’d be without you.” Colby could see Sam’s smile from the corner of his eyes. 

“Same to you, dude. I wouldn’t be anywhere without you.” 

* * *

 Once the front door closed, Corey huffed. 

“Seriously, Elton?” 

“What?” The oldest roommate turned sharply to face Corey. They seemed to be able to fool Sam and Colby by playing nice, but they weren’t quite back to being buddy buddy with each other. Both believing that they were right and the other owes them an apology. 

“Inviting Colby to a haunted place?” 

“I have no idea if it’s actually haunted, considering I don’t believe in that stuff, and what does it matter?” 

“Oh I’m sorry. You are totally right. It doesn’t matter if you’re forcing Colby into a situation just like Suicide Forest. That’s totally okay, considering he’s had how many panic attacks since then?”

Elton stomped towards Corey, stopping only a few inches away from his face. 

“Look, I was inviting Colby so that he could get back to doing what he loves. And he fucking knows that this overnight would not be the same as Suicide Forest. I’d never put him through something like that ag-“

“You don’t need to do it again. You already did it once.” His voice was cold, the complete opposite of Corey. “Anyway, just because he knows that, doesn’t mean he won’t still freak out. His mind is working against him, Elton. Because he’s fucking traumatised!” 

“He’ll get over it because that’s what Colby does. Babying him isn’t helping, Corey! He needs to get back to doing what he’s used to.” 

Corey pinched his nose as he turned on his heel and paced up and down the hallway. Elton scoffed and rolled his eyes as he watched. 

“What are you guys arguing about this time?” Aaron’s soft voice questioned from the stairs, Buddy jumping down and running over to Corey. 

“It’s none of your business, Aaron.” Elton snapped before darting his eyes back to Corey. “Are you gonna come tonight or not?” 

“I’m not going anywhere with you.” Corey shook his head, watching as Elton sighed before grabbing his own car keys and slamming the front door behind him. 

* * *

“Are you gonna tell me what that was about?” Aaron was now side by side with Corey, staring where Elton had stood. 

“He wanted Colby to go on another overnight with him tonight. Like can you believe him?” 

“Corey, Elton just wants the best for us. He’s not great with dealing with emotional situations-“

“Obviously. It’s like he doesn’t even see the effects that his actions have had on our roommate, one of his closest friends.” 

“He sees it, Corey. I’m sure he does, he just doesn’t know how to deal with it.” 

“But-“

“You’re both trying to do the best you can for Colby, you just have different ways of doing it.” Corey sighed, dragging his fingers over his face. 

“I guess you’re right, Aaron. I’m just so frustrated with Elton.” 

“Take a break for a little. Take Devyn out on a date tonight, better yet, double date with Sam and Katrina. It’ll take your mind off of Elton.” 

“Okay. Thanks Aaron.”

* * *

Sam pulled into the car park at McDonalds, their chosen breakfast location. They hopped out of the car, catching sight of a familiar car in another row. 

“Is that-“

“Brennen’s car?” Colby finished, eyes glancing around to see if he could catch their friend. Before Sam could respond, his phone starting ringing, Corey’s name lighting up the screen. 

“I should see what he wants. You go and order.” Colby nodded, heading into McDonalds. 

“What’s up, Corey?” 

“I’m guessing your thing with Katrina and Colby was an excuse to get out of Elton’s video?” 

“Woah, going straight for that, are we?” Sam chuckled. “Yeah it was. I could see that Colby was uncomfortable with the idea. Why?” 

“Yeah, I saw that too. You’re a good friend coming up with a cover up like that. Anyway, Elton never asked me, so I told him that I wasn’t going to go.” 

“O-Kay.” Sam’s face twisted into one of confusion. He didn’t understand why Corey was telling him this. “So...?”

“So, I was wondering if you and Kat wanted to go on a double date with Devyn and I?” 

The question was not completely new to him, as they had had double dates before, but it came out of nowhere. He wasn’t expecting Corey to ask him today. 

“Uh.” Sam’s eyes found Colby through the window, who was sitting down with someone. He didn’t like the idea of leaving Colby on his own. He was getting better, after his set back, but he still wasn’t sleeping alone. Sam was still sharing his bed, waking him up if Sam sensed that he was having a nightmare. But on the other hand he and Kat hadn’t had been on a date for a while, and he was feeling guilty about that, almost like he was neglecting her. 

“You know what, sure. Why not?” 

“Seriously? Thank you, bro. I’ll text you the details when Dev and I work them out.” 

“Sounds good, dude.” A small stab of guilt hit him as his eyes traced over the silhouette of his best friend. “Alright, talk to you later.” Sam slipped his phone back in his pocket, before heading inside. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m sorry about this chapter, not one of my best. But I’ve got some really exciting stuff - or rather engaging content going into the next chapter/s. 
> 
> Next chapter will be posted on September 17th. 
> 
> I post a chapter every Tuesday, AEST (normally between 6pm and 11pm)
> 
> I hope you enjoyed!!  
> Please leave a comment letting me know if you did!
> 
> Don’t forget to follow my Twitter for further updates about when I post  
> @KittieInfinite  
> https://www.twitter.com/KittieInfinite


	21. Twenty

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What’s up, guys?! 
> 
> Wow, chapter twenty, were already here. To be honest, I didn’t think we would get this far. But yay!! And the story’s not over yet. 
> 
> Thank you all so much for being here. For reading every chapter, for the kudos and the comments. It all means the world to me. You guys are just so amazing, I couldn’t ask for better readers. 
> 
> Thanks!!!!
> 
> ____________________
> 
> This is my first Sam and Colby story.  
> I hope you guys enjoy it and feel free to leave comments helping me to improve or telling me which part was your favourite.
> 
> This doesn’t follow any of their videos order.
> 
> Be warned, there is swearing and cursing used in this story.

* * *

 “I should see what he wants. You go and order.” Sam told Colby, flashing him Corey’s name on Sam’s phone. Colby nodded and turned towards McDonalds, letting Sam answer the phone. 

Walking through the doors, Colby immediately spotted his brunette friend, sitting on his own at one of the tables near the window. Colby debates briefly about going over, but ultimately decided he would when he saw no sign that his friend was there with anyone. 

“Brennen, bro. I didn’t think I’d run into you here.” Brennen turned at Colby’s voice, his face obviously lighting up. 

“Sup, bro. How are you?” Brennen pulled him in for their typical bro hug before motioning for him to take the seat opposite him. Colby followed suit, eyes glancing briefly outside, finding Sam still on the phone. 

“I’ve been alright.” Colby answered, dragging his attention back to his other friend, only to be met with the questioning stare. “Okay, fine. It’s been a bit of a bumpy road since the last time we hung out.” 

“Bro. I’m sorry-“

“It’s fine, dude. Sam’s been there and the roommates have been trying their best. I’m just ready to have everything go back to the way they were, you know?” Brennen nodded, popping a fry in his mouth. 

“Help yourself, and yeah I get it. Well, I’m not doing anything for the next couple of days. We could vlog together, bit of normalcy? Bit of Brolby action? I need some clickbait, dude.” Colby reached over and picked a fry, nodding and laughing. 

“I think that’d be good. How could I say no to some Brolby clickbait?” 

“Exactly, you can’t. It’s called _lover_ responsibilities.” 

Both of them nodded, their laughter falling into an awkward silence. They weren’t really the type of friends to enjoy the silence, unlike him and Sam. One of them was always talking, whether one was launching into another story or they were laughing and acting stupid, there wasn’t silence. 

“You here by yourself?” Colby broke the quiet, causing Brennen to look him straight in the eye. 

“Yeah. Jake and I are gonna film something later so I was just grabbing a quick bite before. You?” 

“Uh, Sam’s here. He’s just on the phone.” Again the silence crept over them. It was like they had forgotten how to be friends in the small space of time apart. 

* * *

 Brennen let a ghost of a smile appear on his face as he watched Colby glance out the window again. It hadn’t taken Brennen long to realise that he was watching Sam. A bit of jealously crept up, which he shoved back down into its dark hole. Sam and Colby have been friends a whole lot longer than him and Colby and he had to respect that, which he did. But recently, it was harder because he hadn’t really hung out with Colby since the whole Suicide Forest. There was also some tension between him and Sam, but neither ever admitted to it. At some point, he was going to have to reach out to Sam to sort this out. 

The silence that settled over the both of them, put Brennen on edge. It shouldn’t be like this. It felt like they were slipping away from each other but Brennen didn’t want to latch on if Colby wanted to let go. He wouldn’t be the friend that holds him back. 

_Ugh, why are feelings so hard?_

The doors opened and Brennen saw Colby’s eyes light up and knew who had just walked in. 

“Hey, Brennen. What’s up bro?” Sam greeted, causing Brennen to leap up and give him a bro hug. 

“Not much, bro. How’re you?” 

“Alright.” The silence threatened to invade again, but Colby jumped in just in time, pushing it back. 

“It was good catching up, dude. I’ll text you later about meeting up?” Colby asked, standing up and moving towards Sam. 

“Sounds good, bro. See you guys later.” 

* * *

They left Brennen and walked to the counter to order. Colby walked first, ordering his meal before turning to Sam, eyes silently asking him what he wanted. Sam rattled off his food choice for this morning, surprised when Colby paid for both of theirs. It wasn’t something that had never happened, it had just been awhile, considering Sam had always jumped in before Colby got the chance, since Colby had gotten back from Japan. 

Once they got their food, they took one look at the tables and decided they would take their breakfast on the go. As the two of them headed back to Sam’s car, Sam pulled out his phone, realising that he never texted Katrina about their double date tonight. 

 

_Sammy: Hey, What are you doing 2nite?_

10:07

_Canadian Queen: Nothing planned. Y?_

10:07

_Sammy: Corey wants us to double date. U in?_

10:08

_Canadian Queen: Of course!_

10:08

_Canadian Queen: Wait, What about Colby?_

10:08

_Sammy: Aaron’s home and he’s been getting better_

10:09

_Canadian Queen: Can’t wait then ;)_

10:10

_Canadian Queen: I’ll get the dets from Dev_

10:10

_Sammy: Cool Can’t wait either_

10:10

_Sammy: Love you_

10:10

_Canadian Queen: Love you more_

10:11

 

Sam pulled his car out of the McDonalds car park, the both of them deciding to just drive around for a bit, while they ate. They sat in a comfortable silence until Sam stopped at a red light. 

“Hey, Colbs?” Colby turned to Sam, shoving a fry in his mouth. “Corey asked Kat and I to go on a double date with him and Devyn.” Sam watched as one of Colby’s eyebrows lifted. 

“And?” 

“He wanted to go out tonight.”

“Ah. And what did you say?” 

“I said yes.” Sam saw Colby pause, but only for a second before he shoved a second fry in. 

Colby turned to look Sam directly in the eye. 

“You have fun, Sam. You and Kat haven’t had time together for a number of days.” 

“But-“ 

“Go brother. Go show your girlfriend love, I’ll be fine. Besides, Aaron’s home anyway.” Sam breathed a sigh of relief. He knew that Colby would never hold him back, but at the same time, he wasn’t certain how he would feel about Sam leaving him. 

“Thanks bro.” Sam lifted his cup up to his lips. 

“You don’t need to ask my permission, Sam. Seriously, I can handle anything life throws my way.” Sam’s gaze flickered to Colby, disbelief painted in his eyes. “Oh just drive, dude.” Colby playfully shoved Sam, as the light turned green. They both laughed as the car began moving again. 

* * *

 They drove for a little bit longer, just munching on their McDonalds before a thought crossed Colby’s mind. It was out of his mouth before he could take it back.

“Do you think my eyes are more grey?” Sam glanced, an incredulous expression splattered across his face. 

“What do you mean?” 

“Have my eyes become more grey than blue?” Colby blinked, it was a straight forward question, he thought. 

“Where’s this coming from?” 

“It’s just that, recently, something’s different, you know?” 

“And that something different, is your eye colour?” 

“They look washed out, faded, grey.” The defeated tone in Colby’s voice must have sparked something within his best friend. 

“Colbs, your emotions have been all over the place. You’re probably drained, emotionally, and it’s probably showing. Your eyes are blue, not grey, trust me. It’s just this dark cloud that’s settled over the top of you. It’s casting a reflection into your eyes.” Colby was taken aback by Sam’s response. Not because it was deeper than he had expected, that often happened in their conversations, but rather because Colby found himself actually believing Sam. His eyes turned back to the window, catching a glimpse of his right eye in the wing mirror. There seemed to be a cloud shape hovering over the top of his eye, dark grey mixing with the ocean blue of his eyes. 

“You’re right. I just- my reflection doesn’t look the same anymore, I barely recognise it.” 

“It’s okay, brother. You’re a changed person, experiencing the kind of thing that you experienced, it changes you. It’s changed Elton and Jay, even Brennen. You’ve all been affected by this, it makes sense that your mind is associating that change with a physical presence.” Colby nodded along with Sam’s words. This was the reason why it was so easy to open up to Sam, so much easier than anyone else in his life. Sam just had this knack of easing his worries with only a few words and he never shows anything other than support. 

“Thanks Sam. I owe you a hug when we stop.” 

“I’ll hold you to that.” Sam laughed, pinching one of Colby’s fries while he was distracted. 

“Sam!” 

“What? My box is empty!” 

“That’s because you ate them all!” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oof, getting a little deep there. But also some lighthearted fun - enjoy while it lasts ;)
> 
> Next chapter will be posted on September 24th.
> 
> I post a chapter every Tuesday, AEST (normally between 6pm and 11pm)
> 
> I hope you enjoyed!!  
> Please leave a comment letting me know if you did!
> 
> Don’t forget to follow my Twitter for further updates about when I post  
> @KittieInfinite  
> https://www.twitter.com/KittieInfinite


	22. Twenty One

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone, 
> 
> Sorry about the short delay, but here is the next chapter!! 
> 
> Just a quick, but huge thank you to everyone who is still reading. You guys are one of the lights in my life (after Sam and Colby of course). But seriously, you guys are amazing and for those of you who leave kudos and/or comments - gosh I couldn’t ask for better readers. Thank you all so much. 
> 
> ____________________
> 
> This is my first Sam and Colby story.  
> I hope you guys enjoy it and feel free to leave comments helping me to improve or telling me which part was your favourite.
> 
> This doesn’t follow any of their videos order.
> 
> Be warned, there is swearing and cursing used in this story.

* * *

 The boys ended up driving around for hours, neither of them bothering with the time. Colby turned up the volume to Sam’s playlist, both of them singing at the top of their lungs. It was a rare moment where the two of them got to be best friends again, instead of roommates or business partners. They weren’t YouTubers or Social Media Influencers, it was just Sam and Colby. Something that hadn’t happened for weeks, way before Colby left for Japan. 

“We gotta film for the Sam and Colby channel.” Sam mentioned out of the blue. Colby blinked a couple of times, thinking about it. 

“Are we nearly caught up again?” They had decided a few months ago to explore several of places in one trip, so that they could be in front and never have to miss a week. 

“We’ve got two more videos, so one for this Sunday and then next.” 

“I’ll have a scout around online while you’re out tonight. Check out some locations that fans have sent us.” 

“Sounds good, brother. Tomorrow we can plan a trip for next week.” 

“Yeah, that’ll be good. I feel like I’m going through withdrawals of our bando trips.” 

“Same, Colbs. It’s in my dreams, my subconscious is telling me we need to explore.” The two of them chuckled, sinking back into the comfortable lull in the conversation, the music stepping up to fill the silence. 

* * *

 Sam’s car pulled into another car park. “Time to go food shopping.” Sam sung, sarcasm dripping from his tongue. 

“Oh the excitement, brother.” 

They hopped out of the car, Colby running for the trolley cart. He yanked it out of the row of the other carts, stumbling slightly. 

“Woah, brother.”

“I’ve got it, brother. Don’t worry.” 

“Well, you’ve got something.” 

“Hey!” 

“I’m just speaking the truth, brother.” 

“I’d appreciate you caring for my fragile ego instead, brother.” 

“I don’t think your ego needs caring for.” Colby thrust the trolley cart towards Sam. “Hey, that could’ve hit me!” 

“I know.” Sam pushed Colby off balance, causing him to almost fall into the shelves. The two of them glared at each other from across the aisle, before they burst out laughing. 

“I’ve missed our time.” Sam murmured as he grabbed a bag of Doritos off the shelf and chucked them in the trolley. 

“Same here, Sam. Oh! We need Oreos!” Sam laughed, watching as Colby took off down the aisle, jumping onto the trolley when it had enough speed. Sam almost told him to be careful, but thought against it, knowing without a doubt, that Colby wouldn’t listen. 

Round and around the grocery shop they went until they finally ended up at the register, the price ticking up and up. When Sam and Colby had first moved to LA, they decided that they would balance out their expenses. Colby refused to let Sam pay for gas, so Sam came up with the idea that they take it in turns. One week, Sam pays for their food and Colby pays for gas and the next Colby buys the food and Sam pays for the next tank of gas. The two agreed on it and had stuck to their agreement until Sam bought his own car. But they still paid for their groceries in alternating weeks, and that didn’t change when they moved to the Traphouse. 

Sam pulled out his card and tapped it, taking the receipt and throwing it in the trolley. “Let’s go, brother.” Colby was all to happy to oblige, running out of the doors, causing Sam to jump out of the way. Sam’s hand made its way to his face, to rub the muscles by his mouth. He hadn’t laughed this much in a while, feeling his muscles straining. But it was a good pain, one that he would always prefer, because it meant time spent with Colby.

* * *

 It was about four in the afternoon by the time the two had arrived back home. They were greeted by yelling coming from the gaming room. 

“AARON!! THAT WAS ME!” 

“I KNOW!”

“BUT YOU SHOT ME!” 

“THAT WAS WHAT I WAS AIMING FOR!”

“BUT AARON-”

“YOU SHOULD HAVE SHOT ME FIRST!”

“BUT I THOUGHT WE WERE GONNA WORK TOGETHER!” 

“I’m guessing they’re playing fortnite, again.” Sam exchanged looks with Colby, as they brought the bags to and from the front door. 

“I’d say that’s a pretty good guess.” 

“Aaron! Corey! We’re back!” Sam yelled, bringing some of the bags into the kitchen. 

“HEY SAM! HEY COLBY! AARON! AGAIN?! SERIOUSLY?” 

“Well, we might as well join them.” Colby suggested as they put all of their shopping bags on the bench. 

“We’re not gonna get much else done.” 

“AARON!” Laughter filled the Traphouse, as the four of them spent the afternoon bonding together, carefree. 

* * *

Colby stood at his door, waiting for Sam to open his own. For whatever reason, his best friend had stormed into his room about an hour ago and asked for Colby’s help with picking an outfit for tonight. With a sarcastic remark about how Sam needs his boyfriend’s approval for his date, Colby agreed. 

Since then, Colby had been instructed to wait outside Sam’s room while he changed. Finally Sam opened the door, wearing a plain black shirt with a white, leather jacket which was zipped halfway and skinny, black jeans. “How’s this?” Colby looked him over head to toe. 

“Looks good.” 

“Really? Cause I’m not sure. Let me change real quick.” The door closed before Colby rolled his eyes. Sam hadn’t been like this since the very first ‘official’ date him and Katrina went on, _so why now all of a sudden?_

The door opened again to reveal Sam wearing a white shirt with a black, denim jacket and the same jeans. 

“How about this one?” Colby hummed in response, to make Sam think that he was actually considering the outfit. 

“It’s looks good, bro. Either one would be great.” 

“Are you sure, though?”

“Yes, Sam. I’m sure.” Sam nodded before disappearing back into his room. 

Colby sighed, falling against his door. 

“Colby!” Core shouted his name, before his roommate skidded around the corner. 

“What’s up, brother?” 

“Does this look alright?” Mentally, Colby groaned. _Why could none of his roommates dress themselves tonight?_

“Yeah, Corey.” 

“You’re certain?” Colby’s eyebrows furrowed. 

“Why do you care so much?” 

“I wanna look nice.” Corey answered, simply, turning and giving Colby a second look. 

“You always look good, brother.” 

“But I wanna look extra nice tonight.”

“Corey, your outfit is absolutely perfect. Trust me.” Colby spoke in a high pitch, girly tone. Corey gave him a half hearted laugh. 

“Okay bro. Thanks bro.” 

Colby had watched from his doorway as Corey retreated back to his and Devyn’s room. A realisation crossing his mind at that exact moment and he moved into Sam’s room. 

“You know, you and Corey don’t have to feel guilty about going out tonight. I’ll be fine.” Sam grimaced, obviously knowing that he was caught. Sam turned to face Colby, giving him a small smile.

“I know. It’s just hard not to, you know?” Colby nodded. “But you’re right.” 

“Go and have fun, Sam. I’ll call you immediately if anything happens, okay?” 

“Promise me, Colby.” 

“I promise.” 

The next moment Sam’s phone buzzed, letting him know Kat was here and walking through the front door. He dashed down the stairs, greeting his girlfriend as Colby followed. 

“Hey Kat.” 

“Hey Colby. How are you?”

“I’m alright. How are you?”

“Good. Actually excited for tonight.” She turned to give Sam a peck on the cheek. Corey and Devyn came down the stairs and joined them. 

“Alright, well you guys all have fun.” Colby told them all. 

“We will. Bye Colby.” Corey and Devyn were first out, Corey grabbing his car keys. 

“Don’t hesitate to text if you need anything, Colby. I know Aaron’s home but still.” 

“I won’t, Sam. I promise, you’ll hear from me if something’s up. Now go. You’re burning moonlight.” Sam put his arm around Katrina’s waist and headed out to Corey’s car, leaving Colby downstairs by himself. 

* * *

Once the couples had left, Colby drifted back upstairs, to his laptop, staring at the open web browser. He wanted to scout locations but for some reason, he found himself hesitant. Maybe he wasn’t quite ready to get back into the hang of things, but he desperately wanted to. He wanted to be fine, Colby was just so sick of everyone having to walk on eggshells around him, he was sick of walking on eggshells. 

A knock on his partially open door, caught his attention. He swung around to find Elton stood there. 

“Hey, when did you get back?” 

“Not long ago, but I’m going back out, for the overnight.” He motioned to his bag full of his camera equipment and presumably blankets too. 

“Right, well have fun.” Colby was just turning back to his laptop when Elton continued. 

“Before I go, I edited your Japan video. It’s on this.” He walked over, placing a USB on Colby’s desk.

“Elton, you didn’t have to-“ 

“Like you weren’t gonna ask me anyway, Colby. It’s fine, it wasn’t too much after editing my video. It’s all good.” 

“Thanks, Elton. I really appreciate that.” Colby’s eyes drifted to the USB. 

“Anyway, I’ve gotta go otherwise I’ll be late.” 

“You’re always late to your own video anyway.” 

“Cheeky. Bye, Colby.”

“Take care, Elton.” 

* * *

Without much hesitation, Colby plugged the USB in and opened up the folder. He stared at the only file name, in the folder, for quite some time ‘Suicide Forest - Colby’, images threatening to burst behind his eyes. Maybe he shouldn’t do this quite yet, but, his eyes drifted towards his phone where his twitter and Instagram were constantly blowing up, wondering about his video. 

He has to post something tomorrow. Because, Goddamnit tomorrow’s Friday and he can’t avoid it any longer. If he posts a different video, it’s only delaying this and almost hinting at the fans that something might be going on. 

Just as he moves the cursor to hover over the file, a knock in his door startled him. Aaron. 

“What’s up, bro?” 

“I, uh, forgot about my plans for tonight. I’m supposed to be going over to my old roommates’ place and hanging with them.” Panic surged from his heart. It was dark outside and he was going to be left alone in this big ass house, with just his mind as company. The company that he’s been trying to avoid since he crossed the rope out of the forest. 

“Colby?” 

“Wh- oh yeah. That’s cool, bro. All good, have fun, Aaron.” 

“Are you sure? Cause I could invite them over and then-“

“Go, I’ll be fine. Thanks for the concern, Aaron.” His roommate nodded before abruptly turning and walking away. Leaving silence in his wake. 

* * *

The file begged for his attention, but Colby squeezed his eyes shut, hand darting for the edge of the table. 

“Breathe, I can do this. I can do this.” A door slammed from downstairs and a car engine started up moments later. He knew that now he was completely alone. His eyes opened, flicking towards the clock on his laptop. 

_7:36_

It wasn’t too late, but it would be getting darker soon. Maybe he should get dinner first, after all he’d hate to be in the middle of viewing Elton’s edit and be interrupted by his stomach growling. Fingers wrapped around his phone, unlocking it and swiping to the postmates app. Colby scrolled through the menu stopping at whatever sounded good before typing in his address and confirming his order. 

Thirty minutes

The screen flashed at him, reminding him to keep his order confirmation on hand, just in case his order didn’t show up. He sighed, knowing that he could easily go through the file and be done before his postmates arrived. Food would just be too much of a distraction. There’s no way he could give his complete focus while constantly checking the clock. 

His phone flashed at him again, 

_20% battery_

_Turn on power saving mode?_

He clicked yes, but fumbled for his charger. Better safe than sorry. Once the phone was plugged in and charging, Colby decided he could head downstairs and watch some television, maybe Circa and Buddy might cuddle with him while he waits for food.   


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A little longer than usual - to make up for the delay, and trust me we are building up to something big. Now that we have Colby all alone....
> 
> Next chapter will be posted on October 1st 
> 
> I post a chapter every Tuesday, AEST (normally between 6pm and 11pm)
> 
> I hope you enjoyed!!  
> Please leave a comment letting me know if you did!
> 
> Don’t forget to follow my Twitter for further updates about when I post  
> @KittieInfinite  
> https://www.twitter.com/KittieInfinite


	23. Twenty Two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HELLO!!! 
> 
> (Sorry I’m a little excited) 
> 
> So I made an edit/trailer for this story and it’s on my Twitter. Please go check it out!!! Let me know what you think!!
> 
> https://twitter.com/KittieInfinite/status/1179013665967628289
> 
> Anyway thank you all so much for your continuous support, whether you reading, leaving kudos and/or writing comments. I appreciate you all. Thank you so much. I wouldn’t have gotten this story to here without all of you. 
> 
> ____________________
> 
> This is my first Sam and Colby story.
> 
> I hope you guys enjoy it and feel free to leave comments helping me to improve or telling me which part was your favourite.
> 
> This doesn’t follow any of their videos order.
> 
> Be warned, there is swearing and cursing used in this story.

* * *

 The television remote laid on the arm of the couch, fingers permanently attached as Colby flicked through the numerous channels before switching over to Netflix. Once again he flicked through show after show, title after title, none catching his attention. But that could have more to do with the fact that he was avoiding thinking about something, which meant he needed a distraction. Something that would hold his full attention, but everything seemed to be lacking, leaving room for the thoughts he wanted to ignore. 

A few quiet patters and then the cushion next to Colby dipped, as Buddy jumped up on the couch. The golden puppy nuzzled into Colby’s thigh, begging for some attention. Colby laughed half heartedly, letting his other hand drift down to the animal and stroke his head. There was something comforting and warming about patting a dog. A calming sense washed Colby, one that hadn’t happened in a long while. 

Another nose pushed its way to him, bigger than Buddy’s. Circa pushed her head towards his hand that was sitting in the remote, bumping it off its resting place. Colby gave up trying to find something to watch and instead settled for patting the two dogs that had decided he was a comfortable place to lay. 

Buddy spread out across his lap, while Circa had slipped so she was laying on top of his feet. “At least you guys are here to keep me company.” 

The doorbell rang, striking through the silence that had settled over the Traphouse. The noise had made everyone jump, Colby realising that he had been falling asleep. Buddy leapt off the couch as Circa gracefully sat up, straining her neck to see if it was worth her getting up. Colby patted her head as he moved, telling them both what good dogs they were. 

The doorbell rang a second time, which made Buddy growl. Colby shushed the dog before he could bark. 

“I’m coming.” Irritation threatening to slip into his tone. He hates people who ring the doorbell twice, unnecessarily. It hadn’t even been thirty seconds since the first ring. Why were some people so impatient? 

Colby swung open the front door with a strong grip, scaring the guy who had been about to ring the bell a third time. 

“Uh, Colby Brock?” 

“Yep.” The guy handed over the paper bag before turning around and marching out of their driveway. Colby was left unsettled, standing at the doorstep with a bag full of food and his mind full of racing thoughts. 

_That’s odd. Strange. Did he get scared?_

Colby glanced around, suddenly suspicious of every shadow he could see. _Surely there’s nothing to be afraid of._

However, a shadow moved in front of his line of sight. There was a tree on the other side of their gate, but it looked like it was inside. The shadow was long and narrow, swinging from one of the branches. 

_NO! No no nonononono. It wasn’t what it looked like. It couldn’t be. There was no way that’s what it was._

He was frozen, his hot meal getting colder by the second. He couldn’t tear his eyes from that shadow and yet he knew that to calm himself down, he had to investigate. Colby had never been the one to shy away from investigating things that he knew only looked creepy or scary but actually wasn’t. Every time he and Sam were exploring, Colby was the one who always said what the hell, let’s check it out. 

But not now. His mind was convinced that what it looked like was what it was, and Colby definitely never wanted to see that in his life. What he had already seen was bad enough. 

_But,_

The rational voice in the back of his head whispered. 

_If you see what it is now, you won’t have that playing on repeat._

Colby nodded, feeling like he had been pushed away from the control centre in his brain. Forced to watch as a subconscious part of him broke his statue and walked towards the tree. Colby felt like he was in the back seat of his mind, as his body came closer to the object of his sudden anxiety. 

_It was a broken tree branch._

A branch that had been cut half way through and was now being pulled down by gravity. Leaves dotted it all the way to the end, bulking it’s shadow out. But that was all it was. A stupid tree branch on a stupid tree, go figure. He scoffed in his mind as he suddenly felt in control again. 

Colby glanced around the driveway, seeing his lonely red, Toyota Corolla sitting in its usual spot, all abandoned by its friends. “I know how you feel.” He whispered. It wasn’t the fact that he felt abandoned by his friends, per se, but rather he felt lonely without anyone else home in the big house of theirs. Colby loved his friends and roommates and would never ever make them feel guilty about doing their own thing, would never be upset with them because of that. 

But he hadn’t been alone for a number of days that he had almost forgotten how to be on his own. They were always looking out for him, Sam especially, and he wanted them to have time away from him and his problems. But that didn’t mean he didn’t miss them like he’d miss his right foot. 

Sighing, Colby patted his car on the trunk, before heading back to the front door that he had left open. Like a little, obedient puppy, Buddy was sat in the doorway, still inside but ready to run out at a moment’s notice. The little puppy was watching Colby intently, probably curious as to why Colby had acted the way he did. 

“Trust me, Buddy. I’m really curious too.” He murmured before something flashed in front of his vision. He blinked several times, fast and slow to try to identify what that was. He raised one of his hands and found one of the pillars to help steady himself as he thought over what had happened. Finding nothing in his sight any more, nothing to be in his eyes, Colby pushed off the pillar, anxious to get inside. 

As he reached the door, Colby realised that his heart was beating a million miles a second, in time with his breathing. But before he could do anything, the sound of a car engine revving brought his mind back to the postmates guy.

_Maybe he didn’t leave_ that _quickly._

Rational thought bombarded into the wall of paranoia stuck in his mind. It was a constant wall that never seemed to break down, even now he knows what the stupid, little shadow was, his mind is telling him that there’s more out there. Colby desperately wanted to believe his logical sense but he can’t deny the loud voice that screamed. His fingers moved behind the door and slammed it closed before he had realised what happened. 

* * *

He let himself lean against the door, still clutching on his bag of food, closing his eyes for just a second. 

_Breathe. Breathe in and breathe out. It’s fine. It’s okay._ Colby didn’t realise that his breathing had sped up until he took those few moments to calm himself down again. But he was too riled up to calm down just yet. 

“God, I’m such a fucking mess!” He cursed, frustrated with how quickly he could backtrack. “It’s not fucking fair! Elton, Jay and Brennen were all there! And they’re doing ten times better than I am! Why is it fucking me? Why me?” He felt little droplets falling down his cheeks. 

Colby sniffled as he heard the little patters of puppy feet again, knowing that Buddy was circling his legs. He shifted a little as he felt himself slide to the floor, letting his paper bag fall from his fingers when he had hit the ground. He curled his knees up to his chest, letting the tears fall, letting himself cry for the first time on his own. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Uh oh, and this is just the beginning of the night Colby’s life is going to change...
> 
> Don’t forget the edit/trailer  
> https://twitter.com/KittieInfinite/status/1179013665967628289
> 
> Next chapter will be posted on October 8th
> 
> I post a chapter every Tuesday, AEST (normally between 6pm and 11pm)
> 
> I hope you enjoyed!!  
> Please leave a comment letting me know if you did!
> 
> Don’t forget to follow my Twitter for further updates about when I post  
> @KittieInfinite  
> https://www.twitter.com/KittieInfinite


	24. Twenty Three

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone!
> 
> Sorry for the late chapter, but it’s here now, yay! I’ve just been really busy due to the end of semester roaring up and all of my assignments are due. So a few chapters may be late. So sorry in advance!
> 
> Anywho, a huge thank you to everyone reading my story, and a special thanks to those leaving kudos and/or writing comments. You guys deserve everything because you are all so amazing!! 
> 
> ____________________
> 
> This is my first Sam and Colby story.
> 
> I hope you guys enjoy it and feel free to leave comments helping me to improve or telling me which part was your favourite.
> 
> This doesn’t follow any of their videos order.
> 
> Be warned, there is swearing and cursing used in this story.

* * *

 Colby wasn’t sure how much time had passed by the time his eyes ran dry. He lifted his head, noticing Buddy laying by his side, his furry head resting on Colby’s feet. A whisper of a small cane to Colby’s face as he felt the warm wave of comfort that, even a little, dog can give. With a  deep breathe, Colby nudged Buddy slightly who lifted his head to glance at Colby. The small dog, noticing that Colby was moving, rolled off his feet and jumped on his paws, tail wagging furiously. 

“Thanks, Buddy.” Colby murmured. “Not just for moving, boy.” The dog yipped in his direction before happily trotting off, satisfied that he had done his job as man’s best friend. Colby felt a chuckle rising in his throat before it vanished, as his eyes fell on his food. It was cold by now, not to mention that Colby hardly felt like eating. 

“ _Colby, you need to eat. I don’t care if you don’t feel like eating, munch, nibble, whatever. Just get that food into you.”_

Sam’s voice spoke at the back of his mind. It wasn’t the first time he had told Colby words to that effect, and it was most likely that it wouldn’t be the last time. Colby had had a nasty habit of forgoing food to save time to do something else, like their vines or his homework, or just hang out with friends. That was about the time, that Sam had decided to start having breakfast with Colby. One of the boys, on the weekend, would always go to the other’s house for food in the morning, neither of their parents battered an eyelash. 

It was something that Sam had struggled to continue once he and Katrina started dating as sometimes she wanted to have a breakfast date or one of them stayed with the other the previous night. But Colby was still grateful for whenever their breakfast times happened. Like today. 

His mind wandered back to the bag of food that was still left abandoned on the floor. He had paid for it, he had wanted it an hour ago. Maybe he could microwave it to heat it up again and waft the smell throughout the house. Maybe that would entice Colby’s appetite again. 

With that in mind, he picked up the bag and headed towards the kitchen. A tiny voice in his head briefly spared a thought about the larger dog but dismissed it in favour for getting to the kitchen. 

Moving through the entrance way, Colby had shifted to autopilot, letting his mind retreat into his thoughts. He was so consumed that he almost tripped over Circa as she had come to see what was happening. The large white dog stood in the middle of the arch into the kitchen, watching as Colby came barreling straight towards her. 

“Woah, Circa!” The flash of white fur was enough to throw Colby off course, luckily able to dive her at the last minute. However, he was not lucky enough to dodge the left frame bit on the side of the arch that connects the hall to the kitchen. His weight swayed too far as he had jolted off course, sending his upper body straight into the timber. 

“Ouch.” Colby gasped, as the impact registered in his brain. His head was pounding like a jackhammer, making him sigh as he pushed himself off the timber.

“Goddamnit.” One hand flew to the side, steadying him as his vision wavered. His head spun a million degrees in the minute since he had collided, which made it hard to find the kitchen counter to put the food down. 

“God, that fucking hurts.” Colby swore, as he was now facing the bag which sat in the middle of the counter, sideways with everything slowly spilling out. But Colby had bigger issues then his food touching the kitchen bench. One shaking hand left his grip at the bench, to touch the part of his head that had smashed straight into the timber. 

His fingers came away wet and Colby’s eyes clenched shut, not wanting to see the colour they were covered in. He felt his way to the sink, before scrambling to turn the water on. The rushing liquid was finally heard and Colby threw his hand underneath the water. He opened his eyes to check if he had washed it all away, but it was a mistake. 

The sink was stained in red, the water ran pink. Visions of the shower came to his mind and, coincidentally, the last time he hit his head. Except it wasn’t like when the shower water ran red, this was different. That was his mind playing tricks on him, his eyes seeing something that wasn’t there. 

This.

Well this was real. The water was pink, because his blood was washing straight down the drain. He was _bleeding_. Like actual blood, coming from his head. 

“Fuck.” He needed to do something. _Right?_ He was bleeding, his head was bleeding, _why?_ He needed to- needed to _stop it?_ Needed... needed- He needed _Sam_. 

“No.” He mumbled, he didn’t need Sam. He couldn’t need Sam because Sam wasn’t here. It was just him. _Weren’t there four other people in the house?_ He could only need himself. _What for?_

_Wasn’t there something that had to be done?_

_Something he was supposed to do?_

_That he needed to do?_

* * *

 A droplet of red fell from his head and onto the still-running faucet. _Red? Blood?_ “What the fuck?” Colby whispered, feeling his breath taken away by shock. _His head was bleeding?_ His fingers touched the side of his head, pain striking straight into his nerves. 

“Ouch!” He groaned in response. _When did he hit his head?_

He moved to the other side of the kitchen, in front of the fridge. As it was a metal looking door, it reflected and acted as a mirror. They had spent hours making faces at each other when they had first set everything up in this house. Colby bent at an awkward angle to try and see the wound on his head. If it was still bleeding, that meant it was recent. 

_Why couldn’t he remember?_

A word popped into his mind, an explanation and a scary thing all at once. 

_Concussion._

He might have a concussion, but that can’t be right. He’d remember hitting his head hard enough to give himself a concussion, _wouldn’t he?_  


**BANG**

Colby jumped a mile. Buddy started barking and Circa had moved beside Colby and was now growling. Both the dogs were facing the back door. A chill blew through the house, sending tingles up Colby’s spine. He nudged Circa out of the way, the still-running sink and his head injury long forgotten. 

His mind raced as he hesitantly moved through the kitchen. “Buddy, Circa, it’s okay guys.” Colby’s voice shook as he tried to calm down his only company in this big, dark house. Once he got to the table at the end of the bench, Colby was able to peek through one of the frames on his left of the kitchen arch entrance. There was a glass wall against the couch that wasn’t there before. In fact, there was no possible way that it should be there at all. 

Colby ran the rest of the way stopping when he got to the little couches that him and the roommates had put by the back door. “What the fucking hell? No, there is no way.” Colby wildly flung his body around, looking for a sigh that someone else was around, inside or outside. “Is anyone fucking there?!” Colby yelled, feeling his mind beginning to recede back into his head. 

“There’s got to be someone fucking with me.” He mumbled as his vision blurred. 

_Dirt, trees, ropes and ribbons._

Colby’s mind threw himself back into his memories, into his flashbacks and his dreams, into the scenarios that his scarred mind made up. 

And the open back door was the cause of it. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh no! This isn’t good. Poor Colby. 
> 
> Next chapter will be posted on October 15th 
> 
> I post a chapter every Tuesday, AEST (normally between 6pm and 11pm)
> 
> I hope you enjoyed!!  
> Please leave a comment letting me know if you did!
> 
> Don’t forget to follow my Twitter for further updates about when I post  
> @KittieInfinite  
> https://www.twitter.com/
> 
> Don’t forget to check out the edit/trailer  
> https://twitter.com/KittieInfinite/status/1179013665967628289


	25. Twenty Four

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Helloooo!!
> 
> Once again, I apologise for being late. My attention has been divided with uni again, as it’s almost the end of semester which is the busiest time. 
> 
> But here we are!! 
> 
> Anyway, huge thank yous to everyone reading this story, and an extra special thanks to those leaving kudos and/or writing comments. You guys are so inspiring and encouraging and you are all so amazing!!
> 
> ____________________
> 
> This is my first Sam and Colby story.
> 
> I hope you guys enjoy it and feel free to leave comments helping me to improve or telling me which part was your favourite.
> 
> This doesn’t follow any of their videos order.
> 
> Be warned, there is swearing and cursing used in this story.

* * *

_“I don’t think this is a good idea, guys.” Colby called out to his friends as they stumbled through the forest, stepping over tree roots._

_“Oh come on, bro. What are you afraid of? It’s just the woods. There’s nothing but trees and spiders out here.” Brennen replied, leading them further off the path._

_“I have a bad feeling. Like déjà vu but worse.”_

_“Seriously, Colby. It’s fine, the worst thing out here is me.” Elton raises his eyebrows as he flashed his flashlight on and off, pulling a scary face when the flashlight lit up again._

_“God, Elton.” The laughter from Jay and Brennen caused Colby to blush._

_“Don’t lag behind.” Jay warned him as they continued off the path and into the darkness. Colby armed himself with his flashlight, feeling goosebumps rise on the back of his neck as his eyes struggled to see in the night air. He didn’t like this, he wanted to leave but Elton insisted on filming his TFIL video._

_Colby had been focusing on every little twig snap, that he didn’t notice when the others had stopped. His face crashed against the back of Jay’s head._

_“Sorry.” He apologised as he saw that there was something in the middle of their path, stopping them from continuing. “What’s-“ Elton flashed the light over it, the pink shining in the glow._

_“It looks like a ribbon.” The word sent chills down Colby’s spine, the déjà vu feeling smashing back into him._

_“We should go back.” The other three turned to Colby, eyes staring at him like he was crazy._

_“Are you kidding me? This is the first interesting thing, the first thing aside from trees and spiders and you want to go back?”_

_“I do.” Colby nodded, not understanding why they would want to follow the ribbon._

_“Bro, this is content.”_

_Colby pushed them all aside. “This ribbon is tied between these two trees. In the woods you use ribbon to-“ his mouth felt dry, his tongue grinding on the roof of his mouth. “To help you find your way back. You tie it off like this, because you know you’re not coming back. This only needed to end at this tree.” He pointed to the one on the right. “But instead it ends here.” The words felt foreign on his tongue but familiar in his ears._

_“Colby, what do you think were gonna find if we follow that ribbon?” They all watched him, as if he would snap at any given moment._

_“Something we don’t wanna see. Something that you’re not gonna be able to show on camera, and something that is gonna scar us forever. If we follow that path, our lives will change, trust me.” Elton, Jay and Brennen glanced at each other, silently deciding if Colby had lost it or not._

_“Thank you for that beautiful speech, Colby. But we’ve come this far.” Elton pushed him to the side as he ducked under the ribbon and stumbled down the small hill. Jay nodded and followed suit, tripping slightly before catching himself on a tree. Brennen clasped his hand onto Colby’s shoulder._

_“Let’s face it. There’s nothing at the end of this ribbon, except the end of it. But it builds tension for the video, clickbait dude. It’ll be fine.”_

_Colby sighed as the others all continued on. He would have to follow them otherwise he would be left here on his own. The latter was definitely worse. He turned on his heel and followed after his friends, ducking at the last minute to avoid the ribbon._

* * *

A whimper came from beside the brunette and a wet tongue licked his arms as he trembled on the floor. His eyes remained closed as the dogs on either side nuzzled into him, attempting to help their owners’ friend. The bigger dog howled as she tried to call for help, recognising that they were not making progress on their own. 

* * *

_“Elton, I honestly think we should turn around now.” Collective sighs were heard as three flashlights attacked his eyes._

_“We’ve been over this, Colby. We’re going to the end of this ribbon and then we can turn around and leave. But not a minute before.” The older man snapped before moving his flashlight back to the nature in front of him._

_The four of them continued moving into the unknown for a while, following the pink line as their only guide._

_“What is that?” Colby exclaimed, eyes drawn to something in front of him. “What the hell is that?” Elton flashed his light in front, catching sight of something in the distance._

_“It looks like a tent. I wonder if someone’s over there camping.” Colby’s face scrunched up, eyes lifting away from the bug on the bark of the tree to find what Elton was pointing at._

_“No, fuck no.” Colby breathed, his mind filling in the gaps that he would rather were left blank._

_“We should get a little closer.”_

_“Should we call out? So we’re not scaring anyone?” Jay suggested._

_“No. Don’t fucking call out. Have you guys not connected the bloody dots?” Colby felt anger rising in his chest. This was their fault that he had now been at the scene of something this tragic._

_“I don’t understand-“ Before Brennen could finish his sentence, a loud growl erupted from the trees, somewhere near the tent. The four boys scattered, sending them flying and getting caught up in the ribbons._

_Colby untangled himself but couldn’t see a glimpse of his friends as he stump,Ed over the dark branches. He tried to shout out but his voice was so strangled and sore, he could barely even hear himself. A thought rushed through his mind and he fumbled his pockets, trying to find his whistle. When he found it, he cried in relief and raised it to his lips._

_But it was too late._

* * *

A strangled cry came from the brunette’s throat, the dogs whining as they pushed their heads against him, trying to offer comfort for something they didn’t understand, something they couldn’t see. The only thing that both of the pups knew, was that the human was in distress and no one was around to help him. 

* * *

_There was a shadow in front of him, studying his every move. Colby froze, willing his feet to move, ideally backwards. The second the thing moved, Colby bolted. He sprinted back the way he had come, not noticing any of his surroundings, the only thought was getting away. Before too long, his foot slipped under something, sending his body crashing forward._

_Colby pushed himself up, eyes falling on the thing that caused him to trip. There was a tent shape in his peripheral vision and a person laying underneath his feet. Not person, body; his mind helpfully supplied. The dead body. A scream caught in the back of his throat as the thing entered his line of sight, landing on top of him. He saw dead, empty eyes, before his body stilled and his mind was taken over._

_His eyes jolted open, frantically searching for something. He tried to move his fingers but they seemed to stay in place, same thing with his feet. He couldn’t move, he was stuck. Colby felt the dirt underneath his bare hands, a stick uncomfortably placed right under his head. His heart thundered in his chest, deafening his ears._

_He struggled to scream but no sound came out. Panicking, his eyes flickered around him, praying that someone, anyone would find him. He hoped desperately that Elton or Jay or Brennen would come back to him. Surely, they had noticed his absence by now._

_Colby was in a terrible predicament; he had no voice and his body was out of his control. A face appeared beside his eyes, shocking him, before it disappeared two seconds later. It was there long enough for Colby to know that it belonged to the person who owned the tent._

_His heart continued to speed, screaming in his ears. He was going to die, he was dying. Alone in the forest where no one would ever find him. Colby was breathing in time with his heart. That was it. He was done for. A single word sprang to his mind, his throat screeching it out. “SAM!”_

* * *

“SAM! SAM SAM!” Water was running down the brunette’s face as he rocked back and forth. The two pups moved into another position, trying to let the human know that they were there and that he was okay. The big dog laid on top of his legs, curling herself around his body. The little puppy stretched his paws to rest on the human’s shoulders, tongue licking the salty water away. 

* * *

_He felt the trees coming to life, branches curling around his ankles. In that moment, his arms and legs were able to move but that was all. He struggled to pull the branches off his ankles, trying to lift his legs to snap them. He clawed at the earth under his hands, sending dirt all the way under his fingernails. His eyes were wide were panic, as his heart threatened to overload. His throat closed up as a coughing fit slammed into him. He was choking._

_He was dying._

_Out of his peripheral vision, he could see the body, twisted and mangled. The world had left it behind. That was all he was going to be. Another body that eventually would scar someone, who would call the authorities and be reported as yet another Suicide-_

_NO!_

_The mud coated his finger tips as he continued to dig. There had to be a way out. Surely. He couldn’t die here, he had to get loose. Why weren’t his friends coming back for him? He needed them, did they not know that? Did they think he didn’t need them anymore?_

_A switch flicked in his head._

_No one was coming to save him. No one was going to rescue him, they had left him here all by himself._

He _had to be his own_ superhero _._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oooh, is that a positive thought? Is Colby finally fighting his own battle? 
> 
> Next chapter will be posted on October 22nd (hopefully) 
> 
> I post a chapter every Tuesday, AEST (normally between 6pm and 11pm)
> 
> I hope you enjoyed!!  
> Please leave a comment letting me know if you did!
> 
> Don’t forget to follow my Twitter for further updates about when I post  
> @KittieInfinite  
> https://www.twitter.com/
> 
> Don’t forget to check out the edit/trailer  
> https://twitter.com/KittieInfinite/status/1179013665967628289


	26. Twenty Five

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone!!!
> 
> Guess what, it’s an on time chapter!!!! Yay!!!! Celebration time!!!! 
> 
> And of course, what’s everyone’s thoughts about the #TheGraveyard. I love it so far. It’s sooo good. Better than any of their previous series’s. 
> 
> Anyway, a giant thank you to everyone reading this story, and an extra large thanks to those leaving kudos and/or writing comments. You guys are so inspiring and encouraging and you are all so amazing!!
> 
> ____________________
> 
> This is my first Sam and Colby story.
> 
> I hope you guys enjoy it and feel free to leave comments helping me to improve or telling me which part was your favourite.
> 
> This doesn’t follow any of their videos order.
> 
> Be warned, there is swearing and cursing used in this story.

* * *

 “Sam. Sam? Hey Sam!” Sam snapped his head from side to side, blinking as he focused on his friend. 

“Sorry, Corey. I must have spaced out for a second.” The girls decided after dinner that the four of them should go and play the 24/7 glow in the dark mini golf. Sam had wanted to object but the minute Corey agreed, he felt trapped, locked into the decision of going. He missed spending time with his girl, his friend and his friend’s girl but he couldn’t stop thinking about Colby. 

_Was he okay? Has he had another panic attack? What if he does and no one’s there to help him? He’s got his phone though. He’d ring if there was a problem. He said he’d ring, what if he doesn’t? What if something bad happens and Colby gets hurt? Wait, Aaron’s supposed to be there. But he can’t necessarily help Colby._

“Sam!” 

“Sorry!” He cried out, the loud yell reverberating in his ears and through his bones. He looked down at Katrina who had obviously been tapping him on the shoulder for a while now. 

“If you want to go home, we can. We don’t have to-“

“No, Kat. I’m enjoying tonight, really.” He hated seeing her upset and he really had been neglecting her. 

“Then why do you keep spacing? You did it through dinner and even now...” she trailed off, realisation dripping into her eyes. 

“I’m so sorry, Sam. I’ve been really insensitive-“ Sam grabbed her hands which had begun to shake and curl around herself. Instead, he moved them behind his neck as he trailed down her body to rest on her hips to bring her closer. His lips brushed her forehead. 

“You are the most amazing girl on the planet and I am so lucky to be called yours.” He murmured, losing the rest of the world in favour for staring into her eyes. 

“I’m lucky to be called yours too, Sam.” He moved his head lower and brought his lips to hers, losing eye contact so their lips could connect. 

After a couple of minutes, they detached themselves from each other, Kat letting her head rest on his shoulder. 

“It didn’t even cross my mind that you’d be worried about leaving Colby. It should have.” She protested at her herself, her words mumbling into his shoulder. He gripped onto her shoulders and pulled her back, enough distance so they could look in each other’s faces, but still feel the other’s breath. 

“You don’t have to think of everything, Katrina. Everyone has things that slip from their minds. Besides, I didn’t expect it to cross your mind.” Their lips magnetised each other and their heads began moving. But stopped just short because of Corey. 

“There’s plenty of time for making out, you two! In case you’ve both tragically forgotten, Dev and I are kicking your asses at mini golf. So I suggest we continue so you guys can lose quickly and get the embarrassment out of the way.” Sam and Kat laughed at Corey’s words, finding Devyn giggling too. 

“You seriously think you two are winning? Kiss my ass.” Sam lead Katrina back over to where their friends were standing. 

“Brother, I thought we weren’t gonna tell the girls about that.” Corey stage whispered causing the girls to have another giggling fit as Sam pretended to blush and mumbled a response back to Corey. 

The four of them continued with their game of mini golf, teasing each other about meaningless points. But for some reason, Sam had a bad feeling building up in his chest, right in his heart. He could only assume that it was about leaving Colby, but wasn’t sure why it only started building since they were playing mini golf. He couldn’t shake it no matter what and he desired to rush back to the Traphouse to check on Colby. Sam ignored it, though, staying to enjoy the double date that all four of them needed. 

* * *

_“Colby.”_

_A voice whispered as his fingers continued digging through the dirt, the only movement he was capable of._

_“Colby? Colby.” His eyes glanced around furiously, trying to find the source of the familiar voice. Finally his eyes landed on a figure, standing in the darkness, a couple of feet in front of him._

_“W-who-‘s t-there?” He choked out, aware of the branch circling his throat tighter and tighter. His eyes stayed glued on the figure as it moved forwards. More terror tried to seep into his heart, but the voice was comforting and gave Colby the strength to face whoever had found him._

_Blonde hair sparkled in the moonlight that trickled through the trees. Bright blue eyes shone under the stars. “Colby, I’m here.”_

_“Sam.” The choked word fell through his lips as he gasped for oxygen. Sam ran forward, kneeling next to him, but his hands didn’t move to pull the branches from Colby._

_“P-please. H-help.”_

_“I can’t, Colby.” He glanced at Sam in his peripheral vision, disbelief coated his face. He wanted to demand why, but he was quickly suffocating and needed to get this branch off his neck. Colby’s eyes traced Sam’s form, realisation struggling to filter through his oxygen deprived brain._

_Sam’s body was translucent, the white Xplr hoodie and the grey jeans, littered with holes, seemed to fade into the trees behind him._

_“Only you can help yourself.”_

_“B-but, I n-need y-you.” Sam shook his head._

_“You were always the stronger one, Colby. I always needed you.”_

_“N-not t-true.” Colby coughed out, feeling his airways bruising._

_“It is. But even if you don’t want to believe it, remember we’re always together. Even if physically we’re far apart.” Colby felt tears running down his cheeks._

_His body spasmed, hands jumping to his chest. His hands were_ free. _He glanced back at Sam who nodded as if to say,_ go on. _Colby grabbed the branch that was strangling him and pulled towards his chest. The pressure jolted his body as the branch broke in his fingers. He sucked in several huge gasp of airs, compensating for the minutes he went without air. The branches holding his legs and ankles were next._

_He pulled, tugged and kicked until they crumbled into the dirt and Colby was free. He jumped to his feet, dusting his clothes. His eyes met the blue of his best friend. “You saved me, Sam. Just like you always do.”_

_“No, Colby. You saved yourself.” Colby wanted to argue and disagree but he knew Sam was right. This wasn’t even Sam, it was just a figment of his imagination._

_“Just like everything else.” Sam added, startling Colby who didn’t realise that he had spoken aloud._

_“Why? Why did I create this and trap myself here?”_

_“Because this is your physical representation of your mind. It’s hurt, Colby, after experiencing Suicide Forest, and it needs to heal._ You _need to heal.”_

_“I’m trying, Sam. I’m really trying.” Colby longed to hug his best friend, feel Sam’s arms wrapped around his back as his nose was attacked by Sam’s signature smell._

_“Think of Suicide Forest as a wound on your mind. It’s scarred but the pain still lingers, the memory of the pain is still there. You need to let it go, remember that it’s a memory and not reality. Only you can heal yourself, Colby. Everyone else has just been supporting you.” Colby nodded, half understanding what Sam was telling him._

_“How do I let it go then?”_

_“By facing what you fear most.” Colby’s eyebrows furrowed._

_“But I don’t know what I fear most. I don’t know why this night is haunting me more than the others! It’s not fucking fair, Sam!”_

_“That’s where you should start.” Sam answered simply, his eyes focusing on a shape in the distance. “Figure out why and then you can face it.”_

_Colby breathed as his eyes adjusted on the shape, the tent coming into focus. “The person. The tragedy of their suicide stayed with me that night. My mind replaying the images while Elton phoned authorities, while we drive back to the hotel in silence, while I tried to fall asleep.” There was a person beside the tent, no defining features as it rested there as dead weight. Colby moved towards it, breathing in shallow breaths._

_“I couldn’t save them.” He breathed out at last, feeling Sam standing beside him as his eyes traced the featureless figure. “They had taken their own life, potentially while we were walking into the forest, maybe days or weeks before. But I was too late. That’s why I’m reminded all the time, why I can’t heal.”_

_“Because you feel like you let them down. Because you feel like you failed them.”_

_“We started social media to help people, to teach people how to become the best versions of themselves, and I guess seeing someone who had taken their own life reminded me that we can’t help everyone, we can’t save everyone even if we kill ourselves trying.”_

_“But we can try. We can leave this world better than we found it.”_

* * *

Colby turned to talk to Sam, but he was gone, as was the forest. Instead, staring back at him were two brown eyes and a wet, black nose as Buddy licked his face. 

“Thanks Buddy.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don’t know if I’m entirely happy with where this chapter went. Thoughts? 
> 
> And, with this ‘break through’ we come to the final few chapters. It’s gonna be sad to end this, but I think it’s almost time for this story to reach its end. 
> 
> Next chapter will be posted on October 29th
> 
> I post a chapter every Tuesday, AEST (normally between 6pm and 11pm)
> 
> I hope you enjoyed!!  
> Please leave a comment letting me know if you did!
> 
> Don’t forget to follow my Twitter for further updates about when I post  
> @KittieInfinite  
> https://www.twitter.com/
> 
> Don’t forget to check out the edit/trailer  
> https://twitter.com/KittieInfinite/status/1179013665967628289


	27. Twenty Six

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello all, 
> 
> Just wanted to say thank you so much. 
> 
> ____________________
> 
> This is my first Sam and Colby story.
> 
> I hope you guys enjoy it and feel free to leave comments helping me to improve or telling me which part was your favourite.
> 
> This doesn’t follow any of their videos order.
> 
> Be warned, there is swearing and cursing used in this story.

* * *

 “We won! We won!” Katrina sang as Corey unlocked the front door. The mini golf game was competitive, with Corey and Devyn losing by a single stroke in the first nine holes and then by five in the second nine. Sam had laughed when Kat squealed when they had tallied up the strokes. 

“Yeah yeah, whatever.” 

“We let them win, didn’t we babe?” Devyn spoke as she wrapped her arms around her boyfriend’s waist. The two had been making up excuses for the entire drive home, but none of them could wipe the smile of Katrina’s face, and subsequently, Sam’s face. 

It had been so long since they genuinely had a good time, because of everything with Colby. Not that Sam felt put out by Colby, not at all. He was glad to be there for his best friend, his brother, but he did feel that he wasn’t being fair to Kat, no matter how much she insisted that it was fine. 

Moments like this made Sam fall in love with Katrina even more. She smiled wider to cheer Sam up, but it no part of it was a lie. 

“No way, we won fair and square, didn’t we Sam?” Sam kissed the top of his girlfriend’s head, as his arm tightened around her shoulders. 

“Of course we won. We are the better couple.” Sam winked at Corey who pushed him slightly. 

“Whatever, bro.” 

* * *

 Little clicks of claws on the floor raced to meet them at the door. Tongues licking their legs and hands as the four of them walked inside. 

“Hey puppies!” Corey knelt down on the ground, letting himself get dogged. The others laughed, but Sam felt distracted. He glanced around, looking from the kitchen to the gaming room to the filming room. No sign of anyone. 

“Hey, Colby, we’re home!” Sam’s heart raced as thoughts dug into his mind. _He shouldn’t have left him alone. He should’ve been here. He was a terrible best friend. He-_

“I’m surprised you guys are home this early.” Colby stated as he appeared at the top of the second set of stairs. Colby jogged down the last few steps and Sam met him at the bottom. Sam’s arms immediately found Colby’s shoulders and pulled him against Sam. Sam felt hands trail up his back and felt at home. 

They stayed like that for awhile, just breathing in each scents. Finally, Colby pulled away. “How was the double date?” He turned his attention away from Sam.

“It was great. Sam and I won mini golf.” Katrina announced, sending Colby a smile and a questioning look, asking him if he was okay. Colby tipped his head slightly, nodding. 

“Well then, a congratulations is in order.” Colby walked into the kitchen and grabbed one of the red solo cups they had stacked there and filled it with water. “Hazzuh!” Colby tipped back the water like it was a shot. They all laughed as some of it got in his eye. 

* * *

 About an hour later, everyone had retreated back to their own rooms, with Katrina in Sam’s room. They had laid on his bed for a while before he heard Colby close the door to his own bedroom. “I’m gonna see if he’s okay.” Kat nodded, pulling him in so she could kiss his cheek before he left. He smiled and pressed his lips to hers for only a second. “I’ll be back soon.” 

* * *

Sam tapped on Colby’s door, straining to hear his footsteps in the quiet house. Finally the door handle turned and the door swung open to reveal Colby. 

“Hey man.” 

“Hey.” Colby stood aside to let Sam come through before closing his bedroom door. Sam walked straight to the couch and sat down, Colby followed suit. They sat there for a few minutes before Sam spoke. 

“How are you doing?” He flickered his eyes towards Colby’s, noticing that for the first time in a while, Colby’s eyes were back to their ocean blue. 

“I’m good.” There was something about a quiet house that made both of the boys whisper even though there was no reason to. 

“Honestly?” 

“Yeah.” Colby answered, nodding his head. “I know that sounds a little bit like a lie. But honestly dude. I feel good for the first time, probably since Japan.” The silence returned as Colby’s words floated between them for a little bit. 

“That’s good, Colbs.” Sam mumbled. He wanted to ask why Colby was good, if something happened while everyone else was out. But instead, different words tumbled from his lips. “Where’s Aaron?” Colby’s eyebrows rose in surprise, clearly not expecting the question. 

“He forgot that he had plans. He’s hanging out with his old roommates.” 

“Oh.” 

It was awkward for both of them. They didn’t have short conversations that was filled with awkward silence. This wasn’t normal for them. 

“Tonight was weird.” Colby finally confessed and Sam let out a breath.

“Yeah?” Finally, this was what Sam had been waiting for. 

“Yeah. I- uh. I had another panic attack-“

“Colby! Why didn’t you call me?” The guilt clawed at his heart. _He should have been here._

“My phone was on charge up here and I was downstairs when it happened.” Colby Bowes his head, eyes watching his fingers fiddle with his rings. Sam wanted to probe more but something else caught his attention. 

“There’s a cut on your forehead. What happened?” Colby’s fingers traced the cut, that had stopped bleeding ages ago. 

“Oh, I forgot about that.” 

“How do you forget about a head injury?” Sam half teased but Colby chuckled. 

“Maybe I hit my head harder than I thought.” 

“Don’t joke about that stuff.” Although, both of them contradicted Sam’s words as they burst out laughing. 

When the laughter had ceased, Sam stood. “Let me grab the first aid kit and then you can continue your story.” Colby signed but nodded anyway. Sam left Colby sitting on the couch as he made his way to the bathroom to find the first aid kit. There it was sitting in the top drawer, which thankfully, happened to be the first one Sam opened. 

“Alright. Start by telling me how you hit your head.” Sam told Colby as he closed the door behind him and sat back on the couch. Colby began to talk about how he ordered postmates and the guy freaked him a little. Sam nodded along with his story, dabbing the damp cotton wool balls along the cut to clean it up. Once he was satisfied that it was clean, he pulled out ten antiseptic cream and squeezed a little onto the cotton bud to apply over the cut. As Colby started talking about the dream, Sam furrowed into the first aid kit and pulled out a tiny bandaid and placed that over Colby’s wound. 

“Thanks, Sam.” Colby said when Sam had leaned back on the couch, signalling that he was finished. Sam nodded. 

“Of course, Colbs. So you said I was in your dream?” 

“Yeah. But it wasn’t really you, just my version of you. Or rather your image but still my subconscious. I don’t know, I still don’t completely understand what happened. But what I do know is that I know what my issue is and I can deal with it. There’s no unseeing what we saw, this kind of thing will stay with Elton, Brennen, Jay and I until the day we die.”

“But none of you have to deal with this alone.” Colby sent Sam a small smile. 

“You’re right. Even when I thought I was alone, I wasn’t. This thing, whether it’s PTSD or not, it’s not gonna go away magically, I’m not gonna be fixed in one night. But I can start now. I can face this trauma head on and not let it win.” 

Sam took the time to really look at Colby and found his best friend, the one that hadn’t quite been there since Japan. His arms found their way around his brother’s shoulders again, the comfort solidifying what they had known for years. That they were not alone because they had each other. 

* * *

As the both of them sat in Colby’s room, arms wrapped around the other, Sam knew one thing for certain. His brother was going to be just fine. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As all good things must, the story has reached its end, its ‘official’ end. Which is very sad, but necessary. I remember when I first started writing this story, back then it was just for me and the I decided I’d publish a five part story. Well that five part story turned into 26, or 27 if you include the sneak peek. I feel like I really matured and connected with my writing throughout this story and I really hope you guys all enjoyed. This is definitely my favourite story that I have ever written and I hope you guys share a bit of that too. 
> 
> Let me say thank you to everyone who is reading. I couldn’t have made it without you. Even though some chapters were a little late, you guys all inspired me to find time to continue, to sit down and write. Some of those chapters, ended up really good. Thank you to everyone who has left kudos, that means so much to me, you have no idea. Thank you to those who took the time to write a comment, because I loved reading every single one of them. And a special thank you to those of you who left comments on several chapters, some on almost all. Thank you all so much for the kind, love and support. I hope to see some of you in the future. 
> 
> Speaking of the future, I have two things to say. One is that I said before that this was the ‘official’ end. But what if I told you there was an ‘unofficial’ last chapter. I have one last chapter that fits into this world, but it’s set almost 2 years from the ending of this chapter. That’ll be out next Tuesday. 
> 
> The other thing is that I’m starting a new Sam and Colby story called Face to Face. It’s main focus will be Sam, Colby and Katrina and it’s going to include a 3am ritual ;) the first chapter should be up this week, if not, it’ll be up next week. 
> 
> So with that, it’s time to say goodbye, although I hope it’s only a see you later.  
> Thank you all so much.  
> _______________________________________________  
> The ‘unofficial’ last chapter will be posted on November 5th. 
> 
> I hope you enjoyed!!  
> Please leave a comment letting me know if you did!
> 
> Don’t forget to follow my Twitter  
> @KittieInfinite  
> https://www.twitter.com/
> 
> Don’t forget to check out the edit/trailer  
> https://twitter.com/KittieInfinite/status/1179013665967628289


	28. Witches Forest

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello all!!!  
> (For the last time on this story, *sniff* it’s so sad) 
> 
> This is one of the longest chapters I have written for this story. So I hope you enjoy!! 
> 
> I don’t know when they actually went, but this is my best guess.
> 
> Thank you for being a part of an amazing journey. And without further ado, welcome to the unofficial ending of Scarred By My Mind.   
> ____________________
> 
> This is my first Sam and Colby story.
> 
> I hope you guys enjoy it and feel free to leave comments helping me to improve or telling me which part was your favourite.
> 
> This doesn’t follow any of their videos order.
> 
> Be warned, there is swearing and cursing used in this story.

* * *

  **Wednesday,**

**1st May 2019**

“See you bright and early tomorrow, Jake.” 

“Bye brothers.” Colby closed his apartment door and turned to face Sam who was still sitting on the couch. Colby sighed as he could see that Sam was in deep thought, and he knew exactly what Sam was going to talk to him about. 

“What’s up, Colby? You seem a little hesitant about this trip.” Colby flopped down on the couch next to Sam. 

“Yeah, I guess. It’s just reminding me of...” Colby let his words trail off, his eyes distracted by the rings on his fingers. 

“Of?” As soon as the word left Sam’s mouth, Colby could see the realisation. “Oh, Colbs. I’m sorry. I didn’t even think about that.”

“It’s fine, Sam. Seriously. It’s just, I had a nightmare last night and that’s been playing in my mind all day.”

Colby hadn’t got the chance to talk to Sam, like this today. They had been discussing and calling Jennifer and then filming. Once they had done all that, Colby felt the words trying to spill from his lips, but Sam stopped him, saying they had to get Jake. 

It wasn’t like Colby didn’t trust Jake, or couldn’t be honest with him, because of course he could. They were brothers and Colby could trust Jake with his life, but he wasn’t there. Jake wasn’t in Los Angeles when Colby, Elton, Brennen and Jay had gone to Japan. He wasn’t there when Colby had come back, messed up and scarred from what they had witnessed. Jake wasn’t there when Colby was struggling to pull himself together. He had only moved in with them after Colby had been on the mend. 

There isn’t a single thing in the world that would make Colby keep a secret from Jake, not when he was so supportive and carefree, but Colby didn’t want to explain it. He didn’t want to mentally relive one of his darkest times. He just wanted to leave it buried, and as such, that meant that Jake had no clue, or at least had never brought it up with Colby. 

“What was your nightmare?” Sam’s gentle voice brought Colby back to the present. 

“It was similar to the ones I had after Suicide Forest. Except as I was running in the forest, it wants a creature, but a witch. I don’t know, man. It’s weird thinking back, but it was terrifying in the moment.” Sam nodded, moving closer to Colby. 

“We don’t have to go on this trip, if you don’t want to-“

“No.” Colby said, maybe a little too quickly. “I want to go. Seriously. There’s just some shit that is coming back.” Colby locked eyes with Sam. He was instantly reminded of the times that Sam had been right there for him the entire time he was trying to get over Suicide Forest. 

“I’m gonna be right with you, Colby. The whole time.” 

“Thanks Sam.” 

“You’re welcome, Colbs.”

“So, I wouldn’t be opposed to a movie night before tomorrow.” Sam laughed and flashed him a smile. 

“You got a suggestion then?” Sam wiggled himself into the corner of Colby’s couch, pulling the blanket off the back. 

“Well, there was this new movie on Netflix-“ 

* * *

**Thursday,  
**

**2nd May 2019**

They were back in the car with Colby’s mind still reeling. The four of them had just met Jennifer’s old friend who was a Wiccan. Colby couldn’t help but go over the story in his head of the poor people who died by asphyxiation, and the tarot cards. _The Tower; upheaval and chaos,  Death; the end of a chapter or era and Fear and Anxiety; that its all in your head._

The last card resonated with Colby as that literally represented most of his anxious feelings about coming in this trip. He knew that they weren’t going to see anything like Suicide Forest, but it didn’t ease his mind. 

He wasn’t really paying attention to anyone else, too lost in his own mind. But words filtered in. 

“We’re, uh, heading through the forest. Oh my god, this looks creepy.” Sam’s words poked at him, trying to reel him back to reality. 

“This is very scary.” Colby added, absentmindedly as Sam continued to chat to the camera. 

“We’re just gonna find a spot to park, and-“ Colby continued to drive and immediately spotted a place to pull over. 

“Here’s one.” Colby pulled the car into the park, desperate to get out of the car. He just needed to stretch his legs, he told himself, even though they had only been driving for less than twenty minutes. He just needed to get out of a small space. 

Hoping out of the car, Colby felt the relief instantly. Although glancing around at the foggy forest, he almost wished he had stayed away. But their fans had been asking for this, they reached the like goal on the Stanley Hotel and so, Colby couldn’t let them down. No matter how similar to Japan this was starting to look. 

He caught Sam’s eye briefly, and Sam titled his head asking Colby a silent question. Colby nodded, he was going to be okay. He would get through this. Sam smiled before turning back to Jake, capturing his funny stupidity on camera. 

* * *

A couple of hours later, the sun had set and Sam had set up the pot for the fire ritual. He had explained and with Corey’s complaining, the fire had been lit and they were throwing their objects into the fire. Colby found it easy to forget about his surroundings when he was around his brothers. Sam, his best friend and his other half, Corey, the sensible one who was just too easy to scare and Jake, who was not afraid of looking dumb in favour for cheering everyone up. 

They were making jokes and laughing as they watched their objects burn. “This is a good thing, this feels good.” Colby stated, feeling his mind calm for the first time since they had talked about this trip. 

“Wait, Shrek’s not burning.” Jake announced, and Colby felt fear creep up through his throat. Guess he spoke too soon. His eyes drifted for a second, landing of the shadows of the trees far in the distance. 

“Oh! Shrek’s not burning!” Corey yelled and at the same time, Colby watched one of the shadows move. It zoomed across the pathway, a strangely human shape to it. He gasped as he struggled to move. 

His camp chair flipped as Colby yelled for Sam. Something was out there and Colby needed Sam. Corey had jumped up but Sam just sat there staring at his best friend. 

“Look look look.”

“What? What?”

“There was a shadow, there was a shadow.” Colby kept repeating everything, his mind trying to cling to the present. Now was not the time to fall back into memories from the past. There was something in the forest with them, something that was actually moving. 

Colby stumbled over his words, pointing wildly at the darkness in the distance. “It was over there and it zoomed across.” His words were being drowned at by Corey who was holding the camera and begging them all. 

“Can we go? Yo, can we leave? Let’s go.” Jake and Sam looked at each other, both still sitting in their camp chairs, unsure of what had both of their friends so freaked. 

“Are we good?” Jake asked, staring at his friends with concern. Sam was frozen by the commotion. He felt guilty as his thoughts told him that Colby freaking out was from his PTSD and not because they were sitting in yet, another haunted Forest. 

“Didn’t you see that?” Colby sounded like a little kid, desperate to be right, desperately looking for someone to back him up. But as much as Sam wanted to, he couldn’t. 

“No.” He felt his heart drop as Colby’s face fell. “I feel like you’re fucking with me.” 

“No, I swear- why would I fuck with you?” Colby’s eyes pierced into Sam’s, daring him to challenge him further. “There’s no reason for me to do that. Dude, it literally ran across. Like this is our time to capture it.” By now, Sam and Jake were standing. 

“No. We are not doing that.” Corey refused. 

Sam and Jake started grabbing their things, making sure they had flashlights. “You’re not seriously going? I’m not going.” 

“We need someone to stay here and watch the fire, Corey.” Colby answered, his eyes wild as he felt like he was jumping around. He needed to find whatever the fuck it was. He tuned out the conversation between Corey and Sam, instead focusing on the darkness. He was trying to find another shape, another moving shadow. 

* * *

Off the three of them went, into the darkness of the forest. Colby was leading them, talking about the shadow he saw and which way it went. Sam and Jake were barely able to keep pace with him as Colby continued running. Just then, a sound out of nowhere attracted Jake and Sam. 

“Colby! Yo yo yo, someone’s here. Someone is literally here. Colby! We’re-we’re over here! Colby! Stay on the path!”

* * *

It had been a few minutes when Colby stopped to take a break. He panted and turned around to wait for Sam and Jake. When he didn’t see a light behind him at all, Colby felt his heart accelerate. “Sam? Jake?” Silence echoed his words. “Sam!” Colby felt his breathing hit harder, strangling his lungs for the oxygen. 

“No. No no nononono. This is not happening.” Flashes and images struck his eyes. _Ribbons, rope, tent body dead._ He tried to shake it out of his head but they burned his eyes. 

“There’s no one here to help you.” A voice whispered in his ear, causing Colby to jump and curse. He searched for the owner of the voice but couldn’t find anything moving. 

“SAM!” He screamed, tears rolling over his cheeks. He was alone, in a forest.

_He felt the trees coming to life, branches curling around his ankles. In that moment, his arms and legs were able to move but that was all. He struggled to pull the branches off his ankles, trying to lift his legs to snap them. He clawed at the earth under his hands, sending dirt all the way under his fingernails. His eyes were wide were panic, as his heart threatened to overload. His throat closed up as a coughing fit slammed into him. He was choking._

_He was dying._

_Out of his peripheral vision, he could see the body, twisted and mangled. The world had left it behind. That was all he was going to be. Another body that eventually would scar someone, who would call the authorities and be reported as yet another Suicide-_

_NO!_

_The mud coated his finger tips as he continued to dig. There had to be a way out. Surely. He couldn’t die here, he had to get loose. Why weren’t his friends coming back for him? He needed them, did they not know that? Did they think he didn’t need them anymore?_

_No one was coming to save him. No one was going to rescue him, they had left him here all by himself._

_He was all alone._

“SAM! SAM, SAMMY PLEASE!” Broken, strangled sounds left his throat. Twigs crunched under his knees as the dirt covered his clothes. Tears continued to stream down his cheeks as everything got too much for him. His eyes closed as he let the memories and the scars swallow him whole. 

* * *

“COLBY COME BACK TO THE FIRE!” 

* * *

Eventually his breathing slowed and his heart hit the break pedal. The tears stopped and he found himself on his hands and knees on the forest ground. Colby saw his flashlight laying on the ground next to him. He briefly thought back to his panic attack as he pulled himself up and started walking in the direction he hoped was their camp. He hadn’t had a panic attack that and since after filming the reaction to Suicide Forest. 

Colby wondered what had stopped his panic attack and had a memory of a vague voice calling his name. He shook his head as he made his trek along a path, hoping that he might recognise any of his surroundings. Just how far did he run? 

As he walked, a small dot of light appeared in the distance. “Sam?” He mumbled as he picked up his pace. “GUYS!” He yelled and heard feet running towards him. 

“Colby? Is that you?” Sam’s voice called out to him and he wanted to fall to his knees with relief. He had found Sam. 

“Yeah.” 

“Colby.” Sam shaved the camera at Jake and ran for Colby. Arms wrapped around him and Colby sagged. He felt like crying again, but knew he couldn’t with the camera rolling. 

“Sam. I’m so sorry.” Jake and Corey spoke in hushed tones as Colby just let himself be in the moment. He had found them again, he wasn’t lost in the forest anymore. He was safe. 

“Are you okay, Colbs?” 

“Yeah, bro. I’m okay.” Sam pulled back and let the others question Colby about where he was. Colby told them that he had seen the shadow figure again and had chased it until he lost it. Corey glanced back at Sam and they both shared a look that communicated, that they both knew Colby’s story was bullshit. But it was good content for the video. Sam watched as Jake ate up Colby’s story. 

Sam was going to find out what really happened when they all got home. But for now, Sam would just live in the moment with Colby. He was back and Sam felt whole again. They were okay. 

Jake and Corey started moving away, talking about the shadows. Sam fell back into step with Colby. “Guess, I’m still scarred.” Sam nodded but didn’t say anymore. Colby appreciates the silence as they joined their friends, ready for what else the forest had to offer. 

It had, had its chance to scare them, but now they weren’t split anymore, now that they were together; the forest had lost. Nothing could break them as long as they were together. 

Sam and Colby versus the world, and sometimes their own scarred minds.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And this is the end. There will be no more chapters after this one. Although this chapter has been floating in my head from the very beginning of this story. 
> 
> Thank you all, from the very bottom of my heart, for reading this story. For coming on this incredible journey with me. For sticking around to the end. For all of the kudos and all of the amazing comments. I couldn’t have finished this story without you guys. 
> 
> I hope I see you guys around. 
> 
> So now, we move onto the future. Face To Face, my newest story will be taking the place of this one. Every Tuesday. And the first chapter will be uploaded within hours of this being uploaded. My next story will be different to this one and it will be more Sam-centric. But I hope you will check it out. 
> 
> Think 3am challenges, ghosts, Sam, Colby and Katrina and lots of love and conflicted emotions. It’s going to be a wild ride. 
> 
> Anywho, 
> 
> I hope you enjoyed!!  
> Please leave a comment letting me know if you did!
> 
> Don’t forget to follow my Twitter  
> @KittieInfinite  
> https://www.twitter.com/
> 
> Don’t forget to check out the edit/trailer  
> https://twitter.com/KittieInfinite/status/1179013665967628289


End file.
